At a special event at the iconic Silverstone Circuit racetrack, Sony officially revealed Gran Turismo 6, the next addition to their flagship simulation racing series, once again in the works at Polyphony Digital under the direction of Kazunori Yamauchi.

GT6 for PlayStation 3 will bring new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’ as well as introducing stunning new tracks and cars and a revised user interface. A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content. Meanwhile, the game is also set for expanded connectivity with other devices such as smart phones and tablets and increased social and community functions.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5, which has sold over 10m copies since launching in 2010, will be retained in GT6. But notable new additions to the already impressive line-up of historic cars, road cars and the latest race cars, brings the total car list to 1200 at launch, with new cars set to be continually added online. Several thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars, and players can personalize their own custom cars in game to the greatest ever level possible.

The UK’s famous Silverstone Circuit will be just one of seven new locations in GT 6, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available, 19 of them brand new. There will also be regular additions of new tracks set to be made available online. The improved course maker function will provide gorgeous scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers including the magnificent backdrop of Andalucía

A fat wad of screenshots will all the car porn you would expect from a new Gran Turismo game can be found here in our game page gallery, and the debut trailer was also released.

Gran Turismo 6 is coming to PlayStation 3 in the 2013 holiday season. No mention was made of potential PlayStation 4 or Vita offerings.