cars-trend: gran turismo

Sunday, 31 July 2011

gran turismo

For seven years now, Sony PlayStation and Polyphony Digital Inc. (the software maker best known for creating the Gran Turismo franchise) have joined forces to produce the GT Awards program -- an event highlighting the best-of-the-best at the annual SEMA show. Over the years, it's grown into one of SEMA's most anticipated events, and this year, yours truly happened to be one of the lucky journalists given a crack at judging from a virtual sea of impressive nominees.
2010 Chevrolet Camaro Nicholas Ashby Front
My rookie outing on the GT Awards panel happened to be in the Domestic category -- one of five segments that also included Best European Import, Best Hot Rod, Best Asian Import, and Best Truck/SUV. MT's very own associate editor Allyson Harwood decided the Best Truck/SUV award. Winners from each would serve as the group that Gran Turismo founder and Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi would choose as his Best in Show ride. As was the case with last year's Cusco-sponsored Infiniti G37 and 2007's HPA Audi TT, the overall winner will be included in the next edition of GT's virtual car lineup.
Folder in hand, I knew I was to experience the 2009 SEMA Show in a very different light from most show goers. Dodging in and out of foot traffic through the surprisingly crowded Las Vegas Convention Center exhibition halls, I managed to speak with the various nominee owners and builders, each telling me an impassioned story regarding his ride. The halls were crammed with shiny new 2010 Mustangs, Challengers, and of course -- the new kid on the block -- the 2010 Camaro - so many Camaros! It was, in all honestly, fairly difficult to differentiate the lot.
2010 Chevrolet Camaro Nicholas Ashby Side
About three quarters into my judging day, my eyes caught Nicholas Ashby's shiny all-black ride nestled in the corner of GM's massive central hall display. Called the Moment Carbon Camaro, it was the one domestic I believed exemplified the category -- a car I could see racing across the screens of millions of Gran Turismo gamers worldwide. Ashby's Camaro incorporated an impressive assemblage of highly detailed work. From the completely custom carbon-fiber exterior panels and 600-horsepower Paxton supercharged powertrain to the entirely rehashed leather interior with custom airbrushed carbon fiber seats and exhaustive stereo system -- this modern-day musclecar had it all. The Moment Carbon Camaro's signature feature is its custom three-inch one-piece carbon fiber driveline designed specifically to withstand all the extra ponies and torque.