Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo Preview

Imagine what it would have been like to test-drive Honda's SSM in 1995, a full five years before it was introduced to the buying public as the S2000, or the feeling you'd get from taking Ford's redesigned GT-40, a Ferrari killer that might never see the light of day, out for a spin. It takes years for concept cars to finally be made into production vehicles--if they're not scrapped entirely--and in the process, they often lose a lot of their glamour, exotic looks, and impressive performance figures. While you might never have a chance to drive these cars in real life, Sony and Polyphony Digital are giving you the ability to do the next best thing with Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo.

The game was unveiled earlier last year at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, a mere three months after Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec was released in the US. The game is a sequel of sorts to GT3, and like GT3, Gran Turismo Concept will hand you the keys to a number of highly coveted exotics that you'd otherwise only be able to read about within the pages of Car & Driver or catch a brief glance at during an episode of MTV Cribs. But perhaps calling it a sequel isn't entirely accurate. Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo can best be described as a stand-alone expansion pack for Gran Turismo 3. That is, it uses the same graphics engine and sound library from GT3, features the same play mechanics and similar interfaces, and has the same collection of tracks, while adding around 50 new cars (many of which are brand-new concept vehicles that were debuted at the auto show on the same day that this game was announced) as well as a few other bonuses that were unavailable in the original--basically, all of the things that an expansion pack should be. The only difference is, of course, that you don't need a copy of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec to play Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo.

The progress screen in Concept makes keeping track of what you've unlocked a snap.

Admittedly, the game won't take very long for you to complete--certainly nowhere near as long as Gran Turismo 3--largely because it lacks the Gran Turismo career mode, which was the heart and soul of all three previous games in the series. That means there'll be no garage, no racing leagues, no test track, no purses to be won, no aftermarket upgrades, and sadly, no carwash. Instead, Gran Turismo Concept will be more like a glorified arcade mode, but with the ability to unlock cars by earning them in some straightforward races. Specifically, you'll start out the game with 11 cars, but you'll need to earn a gold medal in 10 license tests and place in first place in all 20 races (10 normal-difficulty events and 10 professional-difficulty events) to unlock the game's other 40. Thankfully, the designers at Polyphony Digital seem to have taken user feedback from Gran Turismo 3 to heart, and they've included a handy progress table that clearly displays which cars you've unlocked and those you've yet to earn. In addition to the new cars, you'll also be awarded with four "presents" after reaching certain milestones during the game, and strangely enough, they vary wildly in significance. For instance, one of these rewards is the ability to watch the opening movie for Gran Turismo 3, which is completely useless if you already own the game, but another such prize is a whopping 10 million credits that you can transfer onto your GT3 save game. It's clear that these rewards are designed to woo people who don't own Gran Turismo 3--if such people even exist anymore--into buying the game.