Gran Turismo is no stranger to luxury cars. From Aston Martin to Lamborghini, automobile enthusiasts have been able to get their hands on a wide variety of well-known prestige whips. However, there has always been one curious absence since the series’ 1997 inception — Porsche. The German company, in operation for over eight-five years, has long been considering a major trendsetter in the sphere of high-end cars, making their lack of participation all the more glaring.
But in the upcoming Gran Turismo Sport, players will finally get to experience something other than the Porche-based RUF vehicles. For the first time in series history, the company is loaning out one of its vehicles for use in the franchise: the 911 GTS R3.
Porsche’s official description calls it “an unadulterated sports car,” one that “that pushes its drivers into their Sports seats more firmly than they would ever have imagined possible.” The real-world vehicle comes with a price tag of almost $150,000 USD, making the $60 USD virtual equivalent quite the enticing offer for those without copious amounts of money to spare.
Currently, the 911 GTS R3 looks like it will be the only Porsche vehicle present in Gran Turismo Sport. That said, the game’s release is still a ways off, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see more of the company’s vehicles pop up later down the line.
With this announcement, too, it seems like Porsche’s exclusive licensing gig with EA is definitively up. After sitting on the video game rights to the vehicles for over fifteen years, EA dropped the license like a hot potato, leading to Porsche’s inclusion in the excellent Forza series. Because of aforementioned deal, one of the world’s most popular sports car brands has been curiously missing from the world of video games. But between Forza and this new announcement, it looks like players will finally be able to get behind the wheel of a Porsche without breaking the bank.
Gran Turismo Sport is currently slated for a 2017 release.
