Hockenheim Circuit Coming to Gran Turismo 5?

A German automotive news site, Auto-Presse.de, may have discovered a new real-world track set to debut in Gran Turismo 5: the Hockenheimring. The rumor comes from an SLS AMG press event hosted at the circuit by Mercedes-Benz, where media members were offered the chance to set a few hot laps of their own before riding along with five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider. A GT5 demo was also on-hand for handling comparisons.

While it is not yet clear if the Hockenheimring circuit itself was playable, Auto-Press casually confirms that it will be featured in the game along with the Nurburgring. For clarification, I turned to German GTPlanet user mikepoint, who offers the following translation:

On different international and German racetracks, including Hockenheim and the legendary Nurburgring Northloop, the SLS driver awaits enthralling high speed races against competition cars of the super sports car segment.

Read the full article here, which also mentions that the game “will be available for the PS3 before Christmas” (something we’ve heard before). If you’re not familiar with the circuit, which alternates as host of the German F1 Grand Prix with the Nurburgring, here’s a few videos to get you up to speed.

Thanks to Sascha for the tip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7KU_O663mA

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Comments (138)

    1. Sigmaviper11

      Why do you hate HSR? Its awesome. Nice sweeping turns, constant pace. And considering the possibility of driving it at night in the rain with 15 other cars its going to be epic. Not including those first banked sweeping turns that occasionally spin out on.

      So why you no like?

    2. terminator363

      @Sigmaviper11

      Wait, you are suggesting that HSR is better than Hockenheim, some weird GT enthusiasts here…

  1. Red_9

    whatever happened to Turismo Tuesdays? We were supposed to get new features info every tuesday running up to release. I know release was delayed, but we’d still like the info.

    1. J-Killa

      Agreed. I’m guessing it’s cause they aren’t certain they will be able to give out new information each Tuesday, now that the game got delayed.

    1. Geo_212

      It isn’t Polyphony that decides the release date. Since Sony is the publisher, they decide. So blame Sony. (I’d agree that Sony is really ticking me off right now)

  2. Geo_212

    Man, those things aren’t street-legal, are they? I mean, if they are… I know what I’m going to be doing with my first car. lol

  3. Eric

    The new F1 game from codemasters looks really realistic in the first video! Don’t you agree?

    Heck, i’m off to buy it now.. I need to do something while I wait for GT5

    Later

    1. Magic Ayrton

      no problem ken, it’s quite a way around the lap, 4th or fifth corner.. kerb is on the right hand side of the track, maybe we’re not supposed to use that part of the track, but I do!! It’s a long left handed corner, normally hard on the throttle through there getting ready for that braking point before dropping to 3rd gear for a sweeping right hander (depending on layout chosen)

  4. Magic Ayrton

    Speaking of glitches, has anyone noticed that one of the kerbs on the Fuji Track in GT5 Prologue doesn’t make a rumbling sound when you go over it…it’s totally silent, maybe it’s flat??

    Do you know the one I mean??

    1. DarthTurismo

      Yep i agree…. i think it’s one of many little glitches that are apparent with GT5p after playing it for a while… like the aweful jaggies around the cars during certain angles and the screen tear during racing (which according to certain ppl doesnt exist!!)
      Hopefully all these little glitches are ironed out for GT5. They sure have had enough time to release a bug free game that’s for sure….

    1. infamousDee

      Sony: That’s fine, come round our place tomorrow morning and we’ll hand you a beta disc with barely any content whatsoever and tons of glitches, seeing as you clearly have no interest in quality nor quantity.

  5. GeminiOne

    The Second Video is Excellent.
    So Gran Turismo 6 should “(SOUND)” and Look something like that right. right….?

    1. GTracerRens

      They’d better make GT5 sound like that. And I hope they aren’t working on circuits anymore.. I hope the game is ready to be released and the rest is for dlc…

  6. TopGearFTW

    The old Hockenheimring was so much better in my opinion. Blasting through forests at 200+mph. I know it wasn’t very challenging for the drivers, and thats probably one of the main reasons why they changed it, along with there being no grandstands for about half the lap, but this new track just doesn’t seem as exciting.

  7. Spaghettimonster

    guys, dont worry. all the news that we hear are probably only news to us. they have implemented most of the stuff already. they just hold back the news to keep everybody interested.

    1. Erik

      Agree. And also, there is no other game where they tell you everything that will be included so why does everyone expect that from GT5?

  8. Koolad

    The great amount of cars in gran turismo is ok, but when we get to know that this one is included or that one is going to be, I find that I don’t care too much. However, what I like most is when we learn that a new track (more if it is a real one) is in the game.. excellent!

    Anyone else feels the same?

    1. Erik

      I can agree to one extent, because I think it’s more important to have a big variety of tracks than a big variety of cars. Cause an infinite number of cars on a small amount of tracks will get boring sooner or later. A small amount of cars on an infinite number of tracks on the other hand would last a lot longer I think. On the other hand I really love some of the cars that has been revealed and I wouldn’t trade them for any track in the world :)

  9. kilzonestrife

    So at Gamescom,when asked what his fav track was,No wonder Kaz stopped and pondered.so much has been released since then!

  10. GTbyPlaystation

    Nice! The second Hockenheim video had a Holden Commodore in it! Good to see some local produce taking on German cars overseas!
    That Chrysler 300C though… I’m sorry but mobile fridges shouldn’t be considered in any sort of car race ;)

    1. Erik

      Hehe, don’t be mean to the Chrysler :) But yeah, it looks like it was designed to take very rich businessmen to their very important jobs rather than competing against BMW’s on German circuits. But maybe it’s all part of psychological warfare, because it must be pretty annoying to not be able to overtake a fridge.

    2. Maxiboy

      Yeah I was pretty surprised to see that car on the lead lap. Never thought it had a hope of keeping up. +1 for the commie, why arnt Ford Oz exporting the FG?? The euros and NA’s would love the G6E Turbo. Its probably the best car Australia has ever produced.

  11. unoc

    2 things…

    1) Wasn’t this a weather location? If so that it was already presumed, but its good to have confirmation.

    2) THe Game show is this wedensday or thursday europe time, are we expecting maybe a release date then? They have a big setup for GT5 there, and it would be better to release a date at an event rather than on the interent at some point randomly.

  12. ken_b

    Awesome track, definitely some history on that pavement. I’m looking forward to before this holiday season, most definitely!! Peace my GT brethren.

  13. Garto

    One question though, if PD is sleeping and eating under their desks, how are they gonna get some love?

    I mean, isn’t that a human desire as well besides eating/drinking, sleeping, and breathing?

    hmm..

  14. Jas

    I highly doubt this track is in the game – we are about a week from the original release date and this is the first we’ve heard of it.

    Instead of adding extra tracks or including readers cars why not just tell us a release date? Its getting beyond ridiculous!

    1. Alex p.

      Sony holds a 20-minute press-conference on Friday in Paris, so, if we do not get a release date there, than next month, maybe.

    2. Erik

      Who says thay are adding extra tracks? This track (if it’s in the game) can have been there for years, only they didn’t tell us. We hear about it now for the first time, but it doesn’t mean that they added ut just now.

  15. Alex p.

    Hockenheim is definatly one of my favourites, fast with some nice corners, gonna be a blast to drive there. And as some already said, this for me is at the same time kinda a confirmation for Spa, and Spa for me, at the moment, is the most interresting track.

    1. Clark

      Fire Yamauchi? Erm, did it occur to you that they didn’t add this over the last couple of weeks? Besides he’s president of his own company and senior vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment.

    2. Red_9

      If Yamauchi wasn’t so hell-bent on including every racing genre and every car and track detail to exact proportions, this game might have been out a lot earlier.

      It’s why GT5 got delayed back in March; Yamauchi decided he wanted NASCAR, WRC, damage, karting and a track editor at the last minute. Not that I’m complaining they included them, but he’s a man who has no moderation; he’s like Kojima. Puts way more than he needs into his story.

    3. Erik

      “This point” was probably in September. The article was published on the 23rd, they didn’t actually go to the track the 23rd… Please try and be a little bit less ignorant next time you propose to fre someone.

    4. Erik

      And here is some data to support my point: http://weather.yahoo.com/climo/GMXX1608_c.html

      “Hockenheim October average high: 15 degrees.” Pretty far from the 20 degrees mentioned in the article, don’t you think? Based on the weather information given in the article, late September is the most likely timeframe for the article. Also because when it comes to magazines, articles are being written well in advance before publishing, as difference to dedicated newspapers where the articles are only one or two days old.

  16. NBH

    I hope the track is in the game and I hope one day GT will have sounds like the second video!

    According to the article PD are still working on the game, so this whole firmware update and missing the blu-ray production slot isn’t what happened then?

    1. IVKillerVI

      Or they figured they have time until the next production slot so they might as well keep going for a while.

  17. zuqbu

    take it with a big grain of salt.
    this autopress text is not an article, but rather an unreflected and sometimes misinformed pr publication. later on the text says polyphony (not sony, mind you) is working on 3d hardware technology without glasses…

    1. Erik

      Yes, and it will probably be released before christmas 2013, 2012 and 2011 too. With some luck we might even get it before christmas 2010 ;)

  18. John Marine

    I’d prefer the classic Hockenheim (the blasts through the forests at 180+ mph), but I digress. Hockenheim is still a good track, but its character was just uprooted when Hermann Tilke decided to substantially shorten the course. I’d still want to race it in GT5 out of love for racing.

  19. Spaghettimonster

    i just dropped them a mail to ask if they can confirm they played the track. apart from that… did anybody notice they said that polyphony is working on a no-glasses 3d version of the game? :))

    1. Spaghettimonster

      just got a reply from the publisher of the article. quote: “its correct. the author is extremely dependable.”

      make of it, what you will. :D

  20. Spaghettimonster

    i hope this info is more credible than their knowledge of units. in the text it says the hockenheim ring is 4500 km long.

  21. demonBlade

    Some interesting comments in the full article how PD employees are still working day and night (sleeping under their desks and not even going home). This doesn’t sound much like a finished game to me!

    1. Maximum Hoonage

      I glanced at the article, and the translation’s verb tenses are all wrong. It’s possible (if this article is real) that that they saw this happen a month or two ago and the translator forgot to parse “is” from “was”.

  22. occasionalracer

    Hockenheim is great track with lots of high speed turns, I was there for the 2006 GP cheering on Schumi.

  23. VYPA-SQUAD_Ace

    I wonder if this track is on the Superstars V8 Racing game thats coming on the PSN today.. If so, I just may have to get this..

    1. Maxiboy

      Alonso shouldnt be at the top of the driver standings. He (and the team) cheated, and if he takes the title instead of Webber, he will have made an enemy. BTW its cool to see the VE Commodores in that SuperStars series. I didnt know they were raced outside of Australia. It was probably raced under the Vauxhall VXR though.

  24. BMfan

    If they are going to have the current Hockenheim track then they must include the old Hockenheim track aswell,was always nice to see the cars reach max speed then have to brake really hard for the stadium area.

    1. Sigmaviper11

      Not necessarily since the forest section was demolished and replanted. They can try, but its not a guarantee that they will.

  25. demonBlade

    2nd video, 1min 31 seconds, that BMW downshifting almost stopped me breathing :0 Awesome, awesome, awesome!

  26. Sigmaviper11

    I really hope they include the old circuit as well as the new one. The Current one is ok, but I hate that F1 forced them to change it and shut it down. The long stretches and tight chicanes made for some epic racing.

    1. Crispy

      Absolutely 100% YES!!! The old Hockenheim was legendary, watching the cars going at full tilt down the straights (If you can call them that) and into the forest, with the mist hanging between the trees….good times!

    2. Jeanr

      +1! And, just like Fuji, it could have a 80s version (into the Black – or Dark, can’t remember – Forest, without the chicanes), a 90s version (into the forest, with the chicanes), and the actual version… (that IMO, sucks…)

    3. Erik

      I remember watching F1 as a child and Hockenheim (the old circuit that you’re mentioning) was always the highlight of the season. A really awesome circuit and if it would be included in GT5 it would be absolutely magic.

    4. Sigmaviper11

      Silverstone and all its variations are an absolute must. It and Spa. Otherwise. . . . idk. . . regardless of what I do it wouldn’t have an affect so I guess I’m just screwed.

  27. Puzyaka

    Listen to those engine/drivetrain sounds!!! I don’t understand why some videos on youtube put stupid music over such mechanical symphony!!!

  28. VeyronGlen

    If this is in it is great! I think GT5 needs more race tracks like this, we’ve seen new street circuits but we need to see more racing circuits! :D

    1. Mickle Pickle

      This real track from Germany looks like a longer version of the Japanese track Fuji … Another fast track :tup:

    2. HugoStiglitz_420

      mine too. I don’t like most high speed tracks @all besides Sarthe but Hockenheim is awesome. I’m really hoping it’s in. Such a great track in Ferrari Challenge

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