Vision Gran Turismo - the purebred next-gen step for the seminal racing series - won't appear until next year at the earliest (and it almost certainly won't have that name, either). But these new images of Gran Turismo HD from Sony give us an idea of how stunning it will look. A highly-polished version of Gran Turismo 4, GT HD was shown at this year's E3 and boasted bigger race grids of 12 cars and far more detail than its PS2 sibling.

Point your eyes at the screen below, or click on the images tab for more shots, and you'll see just how intricate the world of Gran Turismo has become. Colorful spray paint adorns even more of the famous Nurburgring, motorbikes have joined the speedway and each car proudly displays a crowd of clearly reproduced advertising.

Above: Nurburgring Nordschleife is lovingly reproduced, along with the course's colorful decorations

As Sony has always maintained, Gran Turismo HD won't be an actual PS3 game - GT boss Kazunori Yamauchi has called it "merely a prototype." Vision Gran Turismo is the true next-gen entry in the series that gamers will be able to play. Meanwhile, enjoy the Gran Turismo HD screens - it's basically Sony thinking out loud.

June 2, 2006