Polyphony teases Toyota 86 in new GT5 video

Polyphony Digital are no stranger to the Tokyo Motorshow, a place where the wackiest of wacky concept cars are showcased for all to laugh at. They even made a whole Gran Turismo game devoted to concept cars from the show back in 2001 with Gran Turismo Concept.

Don't remember it? You didn't miss much to be honest unless you always wanted to drive a Toyota POD at about 5 mph, a bizarre comedy car fitted with front LED lights that symbolised its current "mood" based on your driving. With me behind the wheel constantly shunting it into walls and other PODs, it had more mood swings than a disgruntled teenage girl with bipolar disorder.

It even had a wagging tail. I'm not joking. This monstrosity could only have come from Japan, and it thankfully stayed there.  

Anyway, this week saw the announcement of the Toyota GT 86, Toyota's joint venture with Subaru, and right on the same day Polyphony released a video showing it in digital form via Gran Turismo 5:

Polyphony actually did exactly the same thing two years ago when the Toyota FT-86 Concept was announced at the Tokyo Motorshow 2009. Here's the original gameplay video, released quite some time before GT5 was even finished. 

We're hoping we won't have to wait a whole year this time round however. We already know that Polyphony are planning to release a second batch of DLC this December, so the chances are the Toyota 86 will be part of it. 

Gran Turismo 5 has so far failed to captivate us when it comes to DLC, with the convieniantly timed October DLC failing to reach the same heights as its triumphant competitor Forza Motorsport 4.

While it's encouraging to see Polyphony keeping up to speed with the evolving car industry and acting accordingly, it's still a long way off before they stand a chance of competing against Forza Motorsport 4's monthly DLC plans.

You could already argue that the Toyota 86 shows signs that Polyphony still haven't learnt their lesson, as it's a) a car that has already featured twice in Gran Turismo 5, albiet in concept form, and b) yet another Japanese car. October's DLC, and indeed the overall car list, suffered from the same shortcomings - reptition and a clear loyalty to the Japanese car market. 

We'll see what Polyphony can deliver, but in all honesty it wouldn't surprise us if it contained eight nearly identical Toyotas and a couple more Skylines for good measure. 

Words by Martin Bigg (Twitter: @drivinggamespro)

Please register or login to post comments