Instead of waiting until the very end of this article to find the members responsible for this week’s featured images tucked away in the footnotes, I’ll save you the trouble of doing so, especially due to there being two individual images used for this auspicious occasion. The image of the 670-4 SV that greets you is another fantastic panorama put together by HaerBev, and the stellar image of the majestic Ferrari F40 belongs to The R!CE Guy.
It’s funny how quickly time passes you by when you’re having fun, and while I’ve been writing this for a year to the day, I don’t think I’ve had more of a by-the-week experience writing something that so many people have come to appreciate and anticipate week after week. It has been a real pleasure writing the Weekly Rewind up until now, and is something I’ll continue to bring forth every single week until I’m no longer capable of doing so.
If that wasn’t a clear indication, today, November 9th, is the one year anniversary of the GTPlanet Weekly Rewind series of, well, everything related to the community here. If you’re new to the series or have merely forgotten, the Weekly Rewind began life as the ForzaPlanet Weekly Review before the two sites merged into one cohesive link of racing and car fanatics alike. After a brief hiatus the feature was born anew and the inaugural Rewind was published November 9th, 2012, which you can check out right here for a nice—wait for it—blast from the past! That is, of course, a reference to the inaugural Rewind’s excerpt:
It’s a blast from the past in the introductory installment of the Weekly Rewind as we take a behind the scenes look at the original Gran Turismo.
Was that preordained? Can I tell the future? Am I a warlock? Yes, to all of these questions. Joking aside, that wasn’t planned whatsoever but you know what they say about the stars aligning. It’s remarkable being able to identify the stark differences between the Rewind of yesteryear and its likeness today. Quite the long way we’ve come.
For the past two weeks since formally announcing the commemoration of the Rewind’s anniversary I have been tirelessly attempting to devise a way to get the job done in a manner that would differentiate itself from the previous publications, and then it occurred to me that such a thing is, in and of itself, completely unnecessary. The Rewind has essentially become synonymous with GTPlanet and everything that it represents and attempting to make one Rewind more unique than the next is an act that needn’t be attempted because they’re all unique, just as every GTPlanet member is unique.
Admittedly, the ride wasn’t always an enjoyable one and there have been a few nasty bumps along the way that saw the feature relegated to a temporary hiatus – but look at it now, better than ever and growing more plentiful by the week. I do fear that eventually the Rewind will grow beyond its capacity and may possibly be forced into branching out into individual articles, but we’ll cross that bridge once we’ve happened upon it.
We’re now less than 27 days away from the North American release of Gran Turismo 6, and with the recent influx of news, I find myself looking forward to it more than ever. The last few weeks of 2013 are going to be jam-packed with gaming activities and I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to balance it all. As I’ve said quite a few times in the past few weeks, it’s absolute madness.
There’s a lot to get through this week so I think it’s best that we light this candle!
GTPlanet Picture of the Week
This week’s choice was an easy one; the little guys rarely get a mention, whether it be due to their blatant lack of power, visual appeal, or lack of luxurious amenities. The race-modified Suzuki Cappuccino, courtesy of Draco222, heightens the level of appeal by being a track ready monster capable of standing toe-to-toe with the Lotus Elise – how’s that for an amenity?
Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
Corvette Stingray Concept Coming to GT6
Carrying the commemorative dark blue 15th Anniversary livery for Gran Turismo 6 is this special-edition Corvette Stingray Gran Turismo concept, introduced at this year’s SEMA car show. Powered by the Stingray’s new LT1 6.2L V8 engine making 460 horsepower and equipped with the standard seven speed transmission, the GT concept is part of Chevrolet’s new renditions of their line of performance cars.
It is host to distinctive exterior and interior changes which include the following:
Custom exterior paint scheme
Yellow-tinted headlamps
Carbon fiber rear wing
Custom carbon fiber hood and extractor design
Ground effects kit with carbon fiber rockers and front splitter
Custom exhaust tips
Racing-style front tow hook
Custom front grille
Custom front fender and rear quarter vents
Custom-trimmed Competition Sport seats
Driver and passenger racing harnesses
Custom flat-bottom steering wheel
Leather-wrapped safety belt bar and rear braces.
I will say one thing, that is the smoothest paint finish I think I’ve ever seen! For the original post and a link to the press release, be sure to stop by here.
Gran Turismo 6 Official Car List Revealed… Finally!
One of the more unexpected inclusions, the Ferrari FXX. Not to be confused with the FXX Evoluzione which, among other aesthetic changes, has the front air intakes painted and lacks the central racing stripe.
Beyond that, the near complete list for cars set to be included in GT6 has been revealed. Of course I won’t be listing the entire 1,197 count here, only the 123 that are new to the series and they are as follows:
1
Abarth 500 ’09
6
2
Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone B.A.T 1 ’52
6
3
Abarth Grande Punto ’09
6
4
Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 T Sport ’09
6
5
Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale ’11
6
6
Alpine A110 1600S ’72
6
7
Aston Martin One-77 ’11
6
8
Audi R18 TDI (Audi Sport Team Joest) ’11
6
9
Audi R18 TDI Prototype ’11
6
10
Audi R8 LMS – Team Oreca ’10
6
11
Audi R8 LMS ultra ’12
6
12
Audi R8 LMS ultra (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) ’12
6
13
Audi Sport quattro S1 Pikes Peak ’87
6
14
Audi Sport quattro S1 Rally Car ’86
6
15
Autobacs Garaiya GT300 Base Model ’08
6
16
Bentley EXP Speed 8 ’03
6
17
BMW 507 ’57
6
18
BMW E92 M3 (BMW Motorsport) ’10
6
19
BMW M3 GT (BMW Motorsport) ’11
6
20
BMW M3 GT2 Base Model ’11
6
21
BMW Z4 GT3 ’11
6
22
BMW Z8 ’01
6
23
Bugatti Veyron 16.4 ’13
6
24
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe ’11
6
25
Chevrolet 2013 Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 National Guard CHEVROLET SS ’13
6
26
Chevrolet 2013 Jeff Gordon #24 Drive to End Hunger CHEVROLET SS ’13
6
27
Chevrolet 2013 Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s CHEVROLET SS ’13
6
28
Chevrolet 2013 Juan Montoya #42 Target CHEVROLET SS ’13
6
29
Chevrolet 2013 Tony Stewart #14 Bass Pro Shops CHEVROLET SS ’13
6
30
Chevrolet Corvette Coupe (C2) ’63
6
31
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (C7) ’14
6
32
Chevrolet Corvette StingRay Racer Concept ’59
6
33
Chevrolet El Camino SS 396 ’67
6
34
Chevrolet Nova SS ’70
6
35
Cizeta V16T ’94
6
36
DeltaWing ’12
*
6
37
Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta passo corto CN.2521 ’61
6
38
Ferrari 250 GTO CN.3729GT ’62
6
39
Ferrari 365 GTB4 ’71
6
40
Ferrari Dino 246 GT ’71
6
41
Ferrari FXX ’07
6
42
Ferrari GTO ’84
6
43
Fisker Karma EcoSport ’12
6
44
Ford 2013 Aric Almirola #43 Farmland FORD FUSION ’13
6
45
Ford 2013 Carl Edwards #99 Fastenal FORD FUSION ’13
6
46
Ford Focus ST ’13
6
47
Ford Ford GT ’05
6
48
Ford Ford Shelby GT500 ’13
6
49
Ford GT40 Mark I ’66
6
50
Ford Mustang Boss 302 ’13
6
51
Gran Turismo RACING KART S125
6
52
Honda FIT RS ’10
6
53
Honda HSV-010 GT Base Model ’12
6
54
Honda KEIHIN HSV-010 ’12
6
55
Honda NSX GT500 Base Model ’08
6
56
Honda RAYBRIG HSV-010 ’12
6
57
Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track ’13
6
58
Jaguar XKR-S ’11
6
59
Jay Leno 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
6
60
KTM X-BOW R ’12
6
61
KTM X-BOW Street ’12
6
62
Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary ’88
6
63
Lamborghini Countach LP400 ’74
6
64
Lamborghini Diablo GT ’00
6
65
Lamborghini Diablo GT2 ’98
6
66
Lamborghini Reventon ’08
6
67
Lancia STRATOS ’73
6
68
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe Dynamic ’13
6
69
Lexus IS350 GT300 Base Model ’08
6
70
Lexus SC430 GT500 Base Model ’08
6
71
Light Car Company Rocket ’07
6
72
Lotus Elise ’11
6
73
Lotus Europa S.2 ’68
6
74
Lotus Europa Special ’72
6
75
Mazda DEMIO SPORT ’10
6
76
Mazda RX500 ’70
6
77
McLaren F1 GTR – BMW (Kokusai Kaihatsu UK Racing) ’95
6
78
McLaren F1 GTR Race Car Base Model ’95
6
79
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 ’11
6
80
2011 Monster Sport SX4 Pikes Peak Special ’11
6
81
Monster Sport SX4 Base Model ’11
6
82
Nissan GT-R GT500 Base Model ’08
6
83
Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 ’13
6
84
Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 Base Model ’13
6
85
Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 N24 Schulze Motorsport ’13
6
86
Nissan Z GT500 Base Model ’06
6
87
Pagani Huayra ’11
6
88
Pagani Huayra ’13
6
89
Peugeot Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Base Model ’10
6
90
Peugeot RCZ ’10
6
91
Plymouth AAR Cuda 340 Six Barrel ’70
6
92
Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster ’60
6
93
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am ’78
6
94
Pozzi MotorSports Camaro RS
6
95
RE Amemiya RX7 GT300 Base Model ’06
6
96
Renault R8 Gordini ’66
6
97
Renault Sport Clio R.S. ’11
6
98
Renault Sport Mégane R.S. Trophy ’11
6
99
Renault Sport Mégane Trophy ’11
6
100
Renault Sport Mégane Trophy Base Model ’11
6
101
Shelby GT350 ’65
6
102
Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe ’64
6
103
SRT Charger SRT8 ’11
6
104
SRT Viper GTS ’13
6
105
SRT Viper GTS Launch Edition ’13
6
106
Stielow Engineering Red Devil
6
107
Subaru BRZ GT300 Base Model ’12
6
108
Subaru IMPREZA GT300 Base Model ’08
6
109
Subaru IMPREZA WRX STI spec C ’09
6
110
Subaru S206 NBR CHALLENGE PACKAGE ’12
6
111
Subaru SUBARU BRZ R&D SPORT ’12
6
112
Tajima 2012 Monster Sport E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special ’12
6
113
Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance ’12
6
114
Toyota 2013 Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx TOYOTA CAMRY ’13
6
115
Toyota 2013 Kyle Busch #18 M&M’S® TOYOTA CAMRY ’13
6
116
Toyota 2013 Matt Kenseth #20 Dollar General/Home Depot TOYOTA CAMRY ’13
6
117
Toyota 86 Race Car Base Model ’12
6
118
Toyota Aqua S ’11
6
119
Toyota Supra GT500 Base Model ’05
6
120
TOYOTA 86 “Racing” ’13
6
121
Toyota Vitz F ’12
6
122
Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 (Volkswagen Motorsport) ’08
6
123
Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Base Model ’08
6
124
Lunar Roving Vehicle LEV-001 ’71
6
For the entire list stop by the original post right here. You may have noticed that the Nissan DeltaWing is stricken from the list, more on that later!
GTPlanet Weekly Race Series (WRS) Online Events: £60 Million Hardcore Classic
The farewells for Gran Turismo 5 are not only in full effect but are quickly coming to an end, and how could they not with the imminent countdown to the North American release of Gran Turismo 6 quickly closing in? As I’ve said once before, everything has to come to an end no matter how large the community or the ridiculous amount of fun had with the fantastic outings in the WRS. I’d imagine next to no one will go back to GT5 once its successor has hit shelves, and that’s precisely the point of the various series of farewells many of you will have undoubtedly taken notice of.
The second-to-last scheduled event for the GT5 chapter in WRS Online racing is here and you’ll be taking up a daunting (and exciting) challenge: no ABS, no driving aids, heavy damage, sports soft compounds and a chance of rain – welcome to the Hardcore Classic challenge.
People asked for No ABS, People asked for all AIDS to be disabled, People asked for weather, People asked for heavy damage and People asked for the £20 Million classics, well you got it all in a 90 minute race on a Classic track.
For the entire rundown you’ll definitely want to stop by the official thread and get your votes in! Remember that you NEED to be registered before officially participating in the WRS, and that can only be done by submitting a time for the official GTP Registry Qualifier.
Gran Turismo 6: Time Transitions, Real-Time Weather Conditions – Detail Blowout!
The official Gran Turismo website was updated this past Monday with details galore, and while it is impossible for me to outline every single thing without slapping a “To Be Continued” at the end of the article, I will outline that which interests me the most. So without further ado let’s get to it.
The trailer above highlights the new weather system, time transitions, and astronomical simulation features. What does this mean exactly? Events where cars are raced an entire 24 hours, such as Le Mans or Nurburgring will be accurately represented in the game down to the relative position of the stars and constellations at night.
That’s particularly exciting as it means driving around tracks with dynamic time cycles won’t become such an utter chore to navigate once the late hours have come about, and the skies won’t look as lifeless as they appear in GT5.
For the entire list of tracks supporting these features be sure to stop by the original posting right here.
Coffee Breaks Have Returned
If you’ve played Gran Turismo 4, and I have very little reason to think otherwise, you will be familiar with Coffee Breaks. Events acting as an intermediate mini-game during the license test trials, and now they’ve returned in much of the same format, except now they serve as mini-games placed throughout career mode.
The challenges themselves are plentiful and can be run again and again. Challenges such as knocking down cones in a stadium, or eco-challenges that test just how far a car can run on 1 liter of fuel.
Better Customization
Customization was an aspect that Gran Turismo 5 sorely lacked, but this is being rectified by improved customization efforts available in GT6. So improved that more custom parts will be added in future updates, and if you haven’t noticed it by now, GT6 will support custom rim diameters!
Racing gear and paint chips were an interesting feature introduced in GT5 but weren’t exactly readily available, but once again GT6 alleviates past woes by allowing us to purchase paint swatches (or paint chips if you prefer) and racing gear – even allowing us to preview before we buy.
As I’ve mentioned already, there’s simply too much to cover here so if you want to check out the entirety of what was revealed you’ll definitely want to stop by the official Gran Turismo website and begin your quest at “Gran Turismo 6 Features List”, right beneath the concept movies.
Nissan DeltaWing Removed From GT6?
If you remember the fiasco that resulted in the removal of the Piazza del Campo kart track, the same fate may befall the DeltaWing as the car has been removed from the official car list and all images on Polyphony Digital’s website have been removed as well.
Speculation points to licensing issues as the cause for its removal from the aforementioned lists, and possible omission from the game itself. For the original posting be sure to stop by here for more details.
Forza Motorsport 5 – All Has Been Revealed
This past Wednesday was the last installment of the Forza Showroom, bringing the grand total of cars available on disc to 200. The last batch of vehicles set to be included in Forza Motorsport 5′s lucrative list of automotive history are as follows:
2013 Lotus E21
1976 Ferrari #1 Scuderia Ferrari 312T2
1976 McLaren #11 Team McLaren M23
2013 KTM X-Bow R
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302
That’s not all, the following list of cars rounds out the list.
2013 Toyota GT86
2013 Dallara #9 Target Ganassi Dallara DW12
2012 Dallara #28 Andretti Autosport DW12
2009 BMW #92 Rahal Letterman Racing M3 GT2
2011 Holden #1 Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore VE
1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
2006 Aston Martin #007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9
2011 Ford #5 Ford Performance Racing FG Falcon
2000 Nissan Silvia Spec-R
1971 Plymouth Cuda 426 Hemi
1998 Toyota Supra RZ
2012 BMW M5
1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II
1982 Lancia 037 Stradale
2002 Ferrari Enzo Ferrari
2011 Ferrari #62 Risi Competizione F458 Italia
1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-454
2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
1992 Honda NSX-R
1993 Ford SVT Cobra R
2013 Subaru BRZ
2011 Citroen DS3 Racing
1986 Lancia Delta S4
2012 Lotus Exige S
2013 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG
1981 BMW M1
1994 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta
1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe
For the full list of cars, including last week’s showroom reveals be sure to stop by the official GTPlanet Rewind thread.
Forza Motorsport 5 Gameplay Videos
Who wants to see an image of the 2013 Lotus E21 and not see it in action? You’re going to get a look at the E21 showing off it’s technological prowess at Yas Marina, another circuit new to the series as well as the Audi R18 E-tron quattro commanding respect at Circuit de la Sarthe.
GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week
The Lamborghini Reventon that was announced at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show was a special model based on the Murciélago LP 640. Its name comes from the fighting bull owned by the Don Rodríguez family in the 1940s. Reventón was one of the most famous bulls of the era, and was known for its famous battle to the death with the famed matador Felix Guzman.
The edged-body style, which takes its motifs from advanced stealth fighters, was designed at Centro Stile, Lamborghini’s design department. The aerodynamics and design were completely redone using all-carbon-fibre outer panels, and the new base style of this car later carried over to the Gallardo LP560-4 and the Aventador LP700-4 models.
The base design of the faithful V12 engine that had been handed down since the beginning of Lamborghini was further refined to produce 9.9 BHP more than the LP640-4, at 641.0 BHP.
The Reventon was a limited production car of only 20 in the entire world, and its 1 million Euro price tag shocked supercar fans, as it was the most expensive Lamborghini in history. Two years later at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, an open-top Reventon Roadster was also announced, and again only 20 of these cars were ever made.
Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
GTPlanet Tune of the Week
Described as a Seasonal winner, this week’s tune recommended to us by tuning aficionado danbojte and courtesy of praiano63, features the 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV tuned to perfection for 550PP events demanding of a menacing machine wearing Sports/Soft compound tires.
Victory is the name of the game as usual and if it’s a deserving victory that you’e after and you want to do so using Italian bravado, then you’ll want to stop by and see the tune for yourself.
GTPlanet Photomode Competitions
In Week 153 of the Standard and Advanced competitions you are to put your best foot forth and show the community just how seriously you take your in-game photography. All you need to know is as follows:
Week 153, Standard: Paint It Black - “I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colours anymore I want them to turn black
A little classic Rolling Stones this week with Paint It Black. You can use the song as inspiration..
or not, just paint your car black and photograph it anywhere you like. You can use the colour whichever way you like – to emphasize the beauty of the car or to make it menacing for example – let your creative juices flow.”
Week 153, Advanced 2.0: Standard Showcase - “GT5 disappointed many with the 8:2 standard to premium vehicle ratio. Luckily, hopefully, undocumented, GT6 will have all of its featured vehicles rendered superbly and realistically, which will make GT6 the life saving redemption for the series after the long awaited release and heart breaking discoveries when GT5 came out.
I want you, yes you, to take a standard vehicle that you are most uberly anxious to see rendered realistically in GT6 and clean up its jagged edges, rough paint jobs, and curves that were meant to be curvy, on tracks featured in GT6. Use any vehicle that is listed on the GT6 car list.”
For all of the relevant information pertaining to this week’s challenges be sure to stop by here and here.
Closing Thoughts
Advertisements are cruel. As I sit here writing this on Wednesday, there’s a Newegg advertisement, right at the top of the page, doing its business by showcasing the Radeon R9 series of video cards and I’m unsure if this is a cruel joke being played on me as I have put off upgrading my own computer to pick up an Xbox One in a couple of days, or if the Shadow of GTPlanet has begun to stalk my almost habitual browsing routines – whatever the case, it’s a painful advertisement to look at.
There you have it, the anniversary edition of the Rewind and it is quite the read if I do say so myself. Sorry for that, if anyone has had to suffer through their eyes falling out I will gladly foot the bill. I could go into thanking all of you for making this such a pleasure but in reality it’s a given of how appreciative I am.
The Assetto Corsa beta is finally available but we’ll talk about that in full detail next week, but if you act now all you’ll have to pay is $39.99 and by doing so you’ll save 25% off of the retail price. Another thing I can’t express enough is that I’d really like comments and the like to become full-fledged discussions in the official Rewind thread since that’s likely what will happen once the new comments system is officially put into service.
I know what some of you may be thinking: T, what are you looking forward to more, Forza Motorsport 5 or Gran Turismo 6? And to that I say “Neither”. I may look forward to FM5 a little more because of the Lotus E21 being present, or I may look forward to GT6 a little more because of the Trophy Megane or the C7 Stingray, but at the end of the day I don’t really have a preference. Both have their advantages, disadvantages, things worth praising and things worth criticizing.
My only true preference is that these things be… free.
I almost forgot to mention, you may have noticed that there’s no Member of the Week and that’s largely due to this being more of project than I had originally intended it to be. There will be a new member soon so keep an eye out!
Now a message from our sponsor, me:
While you’re salivating at the very thought of Gran Turismo 6 finding itself into your PlayStation 3 this coming December why not take the time to become a full-fledged member of our wonderful community. It’s free and we have cake! Okay, we don’t have cake (the cake is and always will be a lie, remember this!) but we do have a strong community and we’re always talking about something interesting. If you aren’t already a member you should join today and maybe you can work out a patented antidote for “Lying Cake Syndrome”. Seriously, it’s been years since I’ve had cake.
My shameless Twitter plug has also returned!
Once again I forgot to mention that I’m on Twitter now. What was once going to be a bit of parody account (because I don’t use Facebook or Twitter for any reason whatsoever) has quickly turned into me using Twitter rather effectively. So, follow me and suggest all things Rewind-worthy from the comfort of your tablets, phones, or Skynet-linked computers. Remember, when the machines finally rise you’ll need someone to write pieces regarding the matter littered with Armageddon-y undertones and I can be just that guy! What were we talking about? Right, Twitter, so if you’ll follow me here the Rewind can be delivered to you in a timely fashion not seen since snail mail. Wait, that’s not the right thing to say!
You will be showered in Rewind, Seasonal Event and future article goodness courtesy of yours truly, so there’s that worth looking forward to once I’ve bothered to get the thing up and running. It can also be used to suggest things for upcoming Rewinds, so that’s now two ways you all can keep me on my toes.
It’s almost time! Until next week (assuming I haven’t keeled over from typing too much), keep racing!
GT5 Photomode images by proby458 and oink83.