The newest car to join the “Gran Turismo 7” stable will be the Polestar 5, coming this December in a free update for players on both PlayStation 4 and PS5. The announcement was made at the Los Angeles stop of the Gran Turismo World Series, a global esports racing tournament with the goal of launching sim racers toward real-life racing careers. In addition to the Polestar 5 being added to the game — part of a partnership that is “set to continue over multiple years” — there will be a special time trial event in the game, the winner of which will get flown to Fukuoka, Japan, to attend the World Finals of the GT World Series.
Gran Turismo series producer Kazunori Yamauchi says he has “long been impressed by Polestar cars for their advanced, clean, and elegant designs.” While the Polestar 5 is just a production car (albeit one with up to 884 horsepower), I wouldn’t be surprised if this partnership will result in a made-up Vision Gran Turismo car soon, and the addition of other models. Polestar is still working on the 6 roadster, which would be pretty fun in the game.
Real-life and virual lap times will be identical
“Gran Turismo” is known for its extreme realism, and Polestar and game developer Polyphony Digital worked closely to make the Polestar 5 drive as accurately as possible in the game, enlisting the help of professional race car driver Igor Fraga. Not only did Fraga win the inaugural FIA Gran Turismo Nations Cup in 2018, but he has since nabbed four Gran Turismo World Series titles and currently races in both the 2025 Super Formula Championship and the 2025 Super GT series. Fraga went to Polestar’s development facilities in Sweden and the Brands Hatch race track in England to drive prototype vehicles and connect with the Polestar R&D team, with Polyphony’s team applying his real-world feedback to the handling and dynamics simulation in the game.
Polestar says that with the right person behind the wheel, the 5’s lap times in “Gran Turismo 7” and in real life are “directly comparable.” Joakim Rydholm, Polestar’s head of driving dynamics, says “working with the Gran Turismo team to ensure the digital ‘feel’ of the Polestar 5 was as close as possible to the real thing was a really important step for us. The end result means the digital car 100% replicates the behind-the-wheel experience of the real Polestar 5, meaning GT racers will have just as much fun as buyers of the actual cars.” When the time trial goes live in-game, Polestar will be releasing a documentary film about the collaboration on YouTube.
