"To translate the real car into 3D, we use data and assets provided by the car manufacturers, but we also use a scanner that completely digitizes a car. Here's a scoop: We're also modeling the dashboards because you can drive from the interior view in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5."
The in-car view is something that fans have been requesting for a long time, so this should make quite a few people happy. It seems like Polyphony Digital is really pulling out all the stops this time around; this combined with car damage, shows that the Gran Turismo series truly is going next-gen (sorry GT HD -- you don't count). Makes you wonder how many of the changes are because of Microsoft's driving games though. PGR 3 has a great in-car camera, and Forza 2 has damage modeling already and they both have online play. So the Gran Turismo series definitely has some catching up to do in some areas.
We say confirmed with a question mark because the debate is still up in the air, but apparently there was a little scuffle between a group of message board visitors and a Gran Turismo development staff member regaring the issue of damage to the licensed cars. The staff member worked on Gran Turismo HD and is hard at work on Gran Turismo 5, which is awesome. But here are a few quotes from the guy worth scratching our chins over:
This is speculation, but not exactly a rumor since it comes from a Sony Europe press release. While talking about the Gran Turismo HD Concept for download on day one of the European launch, Sony let slip a hint that more GT goodness will be gracing the consoles soon. Since Sony and Polyphony said they weren't going to add more to the HD Concept demo (if memory serves), this leads one to believe that Gran Turismo 5 is at least going to be demo-worthy by year's end.
You heard right -- this Fall (or Autumn, if you want to be really specific) Sony and Polyphony will be releasing a sort of 
Sadly, this "updated" version of the neat demo for Gran Turismo HD doesn't come with any special tracks or added options. It fixes a bug. Apparently, a 700MB bug. That's right, no patches, but you've got to re-download the entire thing. Not only that, but doing so erases all your track and drift records. It's... kind of a slap to the face, Polyphony. Why? I was in the top twenty for something... well, probably not anymore, but at some point I was.
There's got to be a way to get our grubby American hands on this demo! Japan gets to download the free GTHD demo on December 24th, we know, but what does it include? New details have surfaced and the available cars and track are known. The track is Eiger Nordwand, available in both normal and reverse racing modes. The cars are thus:
