Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi will deliver a special presentation a conference, titled “Motorsport of the Future: Between Real and Virtual”, in Paris in July.
The event is part of an exhibition that takes place across almost the whole of July at the Maison de la Culture du Japon (MCJP) — “House of Culture of Japan” — in the heart of the city.
It’s an institution that was founded in 1997, based on a project set up in 1982 by then-President of France Francois Mitterand and his Japanese counterpart Zenko Suzuki on an official visit to Japan.
French President Jacques Chirac and Princess Sayako of Japan opened the new building, designed by Kenneth Armstrong and Masayuki Yamanaka, in 1997. It’s located on the left bank of the Seine a few hundred yards from the Eiffel Tower, and hosts regular exhibitions celebrating Japanese culture. There’s also a library and a rooftop Japanese tea garden.
Running from July 4 to July 28, the exhibition is called “Designing the Next 100 Years of Motorsport”. Referencing the fact that around a century passed between arguably the first automobile race from Paris to Rouen in 1894 and the launch of Gran Turismo in 1997, exhibits will include a 1901 De Dion-Bouton and “a Gran Turismo simulator” — which we presume to be one or more rigs running GT7 for public use.
Yamauchi’s presentation takes place early in the month, on July 7, and the theme is set to be his vision of the next 100 years of motorsport — including the merging of real and virtual motorsport, something that Gran Turismo has majored in since Lucas Ordonez won GT Academy in 2008.
It’s not clear if Yamauchi will be giving the presentation in Paris in person or not, but the event will also be streamed on MCJP’s YouTube channel. That will start at 1625 UTC on July 7 and you can watch it below — though it may well only be available in French and Japanese.
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