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Reports of an imminent Gran Turismo 6 reveal are revving up online, ahead of an official Sony event at Silverstone racetrack later today. Bumbling PR reps from Sony's South African branch outed the long-awaited sequel in a press release doled out to members of the nation's gaming press, before hurriedly announcing an embargo to quash the mistake. It didn't help that a product page on the official site appeared online last night.

Purported copies of the press release secured online reveal several surprising facts about Polyphony Digital's latest racer, including a speculative 'Holiday 2013' release date and an unlooked-for current-gen pit stop. With no mention made of a next-gen iteration, the news appears to put paid the notion of Sony's foremost racer leading the charge when the PS4 releases later this year.

Recall: An Italian retailer dropped a November 28th Gran Turismo 6 release date two weeks ago and today we know the game is real, and is coming rather soon. Screenshots have already begun to surface as well, and Sony just made the reveal official, confirming what they said in February that GT6 will remain a PlayStation 3 game.

From the leaked info, the document reveals "A new compact game engine”, possibly indicating a move towards the industry-standard damage mechanics that have so far eluded the series. With the promise of greater “connectivity with devices such as smartphones and tablets” beefing up the GT games’ often-cumbersome community functions, Polyphony Digital also appears to be taking aim at future competitor Drive Club (PS4) with its heavy focus on social integration.

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Petrolheads will be pleased to learn that every licensed motor from the game's lukewarmly received predecessor will make the cut again here, joined by a cast of historic, road and race cars as well as future DLC offerings. Partnerships with the likes of Yokohama Rubber, KW Automative and more will bring even greater customization to this typically staid series, including "several thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels," though no mention is made of any tacky decal and spoiler choices, as of yet.

Here's the official info from the press release:

Cars featured on the GT6 Silverstone demo (* denotes new to Gran Turismo): 

Acura NSX '91, *Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale '11, *Alpine A110 1600S '68, *Audi Sport quattro S1 Rally Car '86, Ferrari 458 Italia '09, *Ferrari Dino 246 GT '71, Ford GT '06, *KTM X-BOW R '12, Lamborghini Countach LP400 '74, *Light Car Company Rocket '07, McLaren MP4-12C '10, *Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 '11, Nissan 370Z (Z34) (GT Academy Version) '08, Nissan 370Z Tuned Car (GT Academy , Version) '08, Nissan GT-R Black edition (GT Academy Version) '12, *Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 N24 Schulze Motorsport, Nissan Leaf G (GT Academy Version), *Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance '12, Toyota 86 GT '12

Summary of new Gran Turismo 6 features announced by Kazunori Yamauchi:

New Game Engine

  • Refactoring
  • Compact, nimble operation
  • Flexible expandability
  • A new rendering engine that pushes the limits of the PS3

New Physics Engine

  • New suspension and kinematics model
  • New tyre model
  • New aerodynamics model
  • Technical partnership with Yokohama Rubber and KW Automotive

1,200 Cars, abundant custom parts, and on-going DLC

  • From historic cars to the latest racing cars, the game contains a total of 1200 cars.
  • Multiple aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars.
  • Players can create their own personalised custom car in the game.
  • Cars will be continually added online

33 locations, 71 layouts

  • 33 Locations and 71 layouts will be provided from day 1 (7 more locations and 19 more layouts than GT5)
  • More new tracks will continue to be provided online

New Course Maker

  • Massive scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers
  • A new course generation algorithm

Community/Club/Race Organizer

  • Players can form their own communities
  • Various community levels from local and domestic to global
  • Players themselves can create and manage their own online events

New User Interface

  • Balancing directional key operation and touch operation
  • Quick response
  • Shortening of loading times

Multi Device Compatibility

  • PlayStation
  • Smart Phone
  • Tablet
  • PC

For fans of long drives, both relaxing and otherwise, the game offers up a selection of 7 new locations in which to burn rubber, moving the gran(d) total up to a stirling (moss) 71. There’s also confirmation of downloadable tracks appearing post-release, in addition to the game’s custom course maker receiving a timely tune up - though whether this sandbox mode lives up to every child’s dream of a real life Scalextric kit remains to be seen.

Gran Turismo 6 releases for the PS3 later this year.

Sources: Sony, NeoGAF, iafrica.com