If you enjoy sim racing and spend your weekends chasing lap times in the virtual world, there’s a new car coming your way. The Polestar 5, the Swedish brand’s all-new flagship four-door coupe, is joining Gran Turismo 7 this December through a free update for PlayStation 4 and 5. Unveiled to fans at the Gran Turismo World Series in Los Angeles over the weekend, it’s part of a deeper collaboration between Polestar and Polyphony Digital, the Japanese studio behind the legendary Gran Turismo franchise.
After the limited-run Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid coupe defined the brand’s design and performance DNA, the 5 pushes that philosophy further with a fully electric, four-door GT layout. Fresh off its global debut at IAA 2025 in Munich, where it headlined as the Scandinavian brand’s most advanced EV, the Polestar 5 also made waves in a short film starring Alexander Skarsgård. It’s a car that combines Polestar’s design and performance philosophy more than any model before it. Built on a bonded aluminum chassis, the Polestar 5 produces around 870 horsepower from a dual-motor setup.
“I have long been impressed by Polestar cars for their advanced, clean, and elegant designs, and so I am delighted to collaborate with them to bring the Polestar 5 to Gran Turismo. The development team at Polestar put a great deal of care into crafting the car’s driving experience, and so I am sure the players will enjoy the experience of driving it in Gran Turismo.” – Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo Series Producer
Polyphony Digital is widely recognized for its obsessive attention to realism and detail. Polestar opened the doors to its development center in Sweden. Professional racer and Gran Turismo champion Igor Fraga worked alongside Polestar’s Head of Driving Dynamics, Joakim Rydholm, to capture the car’s real-world handling and performance traits. They validated the results on the challenging Brands Hatch circuit in England, ensuring that the in-game Polestar 5 mirrors its real-world behavior down to steering feedback and throttle response.
This collaboration also marks the start of a multi-year partnership, paving the way for future Polestar models like the upcoming Polestar 6 roadster to join Gran Turismo. To celebrate the launch, a special in-game time trial will give players a shot at winning an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2025 GT World Finals in Fukuoka, Japan. A behind-the-scenes documentary will drop on Polestar’s YouTube channel alongside the update, detailing how two worlds, digital and physical, merged to deliver one of the most realistic driving experiences ever created.
Finally, longtime Gran Turismo players should be well aware that this isn’t the first time a Swedish car has graced the series. Earlier editions featured the Volvo C30 Polestar, S60 Polestar, and even the classic Volvo 240 wagon, a cult favorite for its boxy charm. The Polestar 5 now continues that heritage, bringing modern Scandinavian performance into the EV era.
Images: Polestar, Gran Turismo
