DETROIT, Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- It seems the
virtual world continues to delight us with experiences not yet
available in the real world. Beginning January 14, the stunning Toyota FT-1 concept will
be available as a downloadable vehicle for PlayStation®3's
Gran Turismo 6 (GT6) real driving simulator. Race fans
and the gaming community can experience FT-1 exclusively in
GT6, where the FT-1 was created digitally to realistically
demonstrate what a production FT-1 could achieve.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140113/LA44840-a)
"Thanks to the amazing capability of the Gran Turismo game
engine, gamers can enjoy a very real simulation piloting the
ultra-high performance FT-1 on the tracks it was designed to
master," said Kevin Hunter,
President of Calty Design Research, the group responsible for the
FT-1 design.
As part of the pitch process to top management that saw the FT-1
concept selected for construction and display on the international
auto show circuit, Calty sought a way to help key executives
(including Akio Toyoda) better
experience the concept. Calty approached Polyphony about
utilizing the Gran Turismo game physics to help create a
driving simulator experience that could physically communicate the
performance and emotion of the high-performance concept. For
the day of design selection, the Polyphony team was able to bring
the Toyota FT-1 to life in a virtual world that captured the
excitement, passion, and performance conveyed by the concept
model.
This exciting concept is a spiritual pacecar for Toyota's future
design direction. Penned by enthusiast designers at Toyota's Calty
Design Research facility in Newport
Beach, California, the vibrant concept represents Toyota's
vision of the ultimate high-performance sports car. Its name is
derived from Future Toyota (FT), and the number "1" as in
ultimate. The unparalleled physics engine in GT6 will
bring the FT-1 to life for a gaming community eager to get behind
the wheel of this aggressive, track-focused, visionary sports car
concept.
Gran Turismo continues to be at the forefront of
development with the world's most recognized automotive brands,
pushing the racing simulator beyond gaming's boundaries to affect
the broader automotive industry as a whole. GT6, the latest
iteration of the best-selling franchise, comes complete with the
most realistic physics engine and massive online functionality,
while offering a staggering collection of more than 1,200 of the
world's best cars and 37 tracks – with many of those cars coming
first to GT6 thanks to unique partnerships like the one with
Toyota.
"It's always been a dream of ours to have our automotive
partners use Gran Turismo in exciting new ways," said Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran
Turismo and President of Polyphony Digital Inc. "The design
team at Calty developed a stunning concept car and we were honored
to work with them to render the car digitally for the concept
presentation. The FT-1 is a forward-looking, technically advanced
and beautiful concept car. We can't wait to see fans' reactions as
they drive the vehicle and get to know it the way I was able
to."
Owners of GT6 will be the first to test-drive the FT-1 as
a free online update beginning January
14. Upon downloading the latest update, a unique seasonal
event featuring the Toyota FT-1 will be made available in the game.
Receive a bronze or better in the FT-1 challenge at Laguna Seca and
you will receive the car. Drivers will also be able to purchase the
vehicle from the Toyota dealership in the simulator without having
to complete the seasonal event.
In addition to the creation of the FT-1 in GT6, Toyota is
also represented in the groundbreaking Vision Gran Turismo project.
A celebration of the franchise's 15th anniversary, the
project invites leading brands to design their vision of the future
of driving. The resulting concepts will be released
exclusively on GT6 throughout the year.
About Toyota
Toyota, the world's top automaker and
creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way
people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over
the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks
in North America, where we operate
14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly
40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in
2012 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the
past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the
country, with a focus on education, safety and the
environment. As part of this commitment, we share the
company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and
trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand
their ability to do good. (NYSE:TM)
For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About the Gran Turismo® Franchise
Gran Turismo®
celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2013, having first
appeared internationally in 1998. The multi-award-winning franchise
has been the most successful ever for PlayStation®, and in 2013 it
also surpassed worldwide sales of 70 million units. Various
iterations of Gran Turismo have been created for
PlayStation® , PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system,
PlayStation®3 and PSP (PlayStation® Portable), and have always been
regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulators ever
created due to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology
and design. Since the inception of Gran Turismo, famed creator
Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony
Digital Inc. in Japan have
revolutionized the racing category as we know it today. His
offerings provide the most realistic driving simulation in the
industry and a unique medium for automotive manufacturers to
showcase their products. Gran Turismo®5, the latest iteration of
the game, was released in 2010 and has sold 10 million units
worldwide. The latest entry into the franchise, Gran Turismo®6,
released on December 6, 2013.
"Gran Turismo", "Gran Turismo 6," "PlayStation",
"PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of
Sony Computer Entertainment, LLC
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos and video to accompany this story are
available and can be retrieved in digital form by media without
charge at http://www.toyotanewsroom.com. More information about
Gran Turismo is available at http://www.gran-turismo.com/us/
Media Web site: http://www.toyotanewsroom.com
Public Web site: http://www.toyota.com
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SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales