Gran Designs - Day one: Gran Turismo

As well as control, GT introduced another thing to the world of racing games - statistics. The first GT gave us a staggering 178 cars, quite something to a gaming world then ruled by titles like Sega Rally and Daytona USA which would, if you were lucky, give you a choice of three vehicles with maybe a fourth as a bonus.

Gran Turismo was intriguing. It was interesting to drive your mom%26rsquo;s old family car around a race track. Gone were the fantasy worlds where you raced F1 cars and stock cars at 1000mph - now you were a learner driver bumping Fiats into cones.