Sony and Polyphony have announced that the prequel to GT5, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, will be out for gamers before the end of the year.

The driving-sim preview will be available on both Blu-ray and as download from PlayStation Network.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will feature over 40 cars, including Lotus, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Ferrari, and plenty of real-life tracks, from the Eiger Nordwand to the London City Track.

There’ll also be all-new driving physics for the most lifelike driving experience in the 50 million unit selling series of games yet and new, improved opponent artificial intelligence for the toughest race challenge yet.

And for the first time fans will be able to take their skills online in races featuring up to 16 players… and if that wasn’t enough, the game is going to get its own dedicated TV channel, Gran Turismo TV –available exclusively from PSN and packed with some of the greatest content that Motorsport, car manufacturers and TV has to offer.