Polestar 5 Performance GT arrives in GT7 virtual test drives

Polestar says the Polestar 5 Performance GT is drivable in Gran Turismo 7 and select Polestar Spaces, ahead of real test drives in 2026—learn details.

Polestar has made its next move to put the upcoming Polestar 5 Performance GT in front of potential buyers—before most people can touch the real car. In selected Polestar Spaces, visitors can now experience the four-door grand tourer through virtual test drives, while the model also arrives in Gran Turismo 7 via Polestar’s collaboration with Polyphony Digital. For the brand, it’s the first chance to let a broad audience take the wheel of its flagship GT in a public setting ahead of the car’s physical rollout.

The timing is built around GT7’s free Spec III update released on 4 December. The update is billed as a major content drop that includes eight new cars and two real-world tracks, and it makes the Polestar 5 available to players on PS4 and PS5. Polestar says the goal was not just to add another vehicle to the roster, but to replicate the car’s real-world character: its engineers worked closely with Polyphony Digital to ensure the in-game driving experience reflects the Polestar 5’s dynamic traits.

That “physical-to-digital” approach also leaned on Igor Fraga, introduced by Polestar as a digital test driver who bridges professional Gran Turismo competition and real-world racing. In public descriptions of the project, his role underlines the message Polestar wants to send: this is meant to feel like more than a showroom demo—closer to an early taste of how the flagship could behave when it finally reaches customers.

Alongside the in-game debut, Polestar is staging hands-on activations in Europe. Virtual test-drive stations roll out from 5 December in selected Polestar Spaces, with Hamburg highlighted for Germany between 10 and 21 December. For visitors who prefer seeing the vehicle in person, the Polestar 5 is also touring Germany: after stops in Düsseldorf and Offenbach, it appears at Polestar Space Hamburg from 9 to 14 December, then continues to Polestar Space Berlin from 16 December to 4 January 2026.

A competitive layer is designed to widen the reach beyond the Spaces. To mark the Polestar 5’s arrival in GT7, players worldwide can enter an international time trial on Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. The winner is promised an exclusive trip to Fukuoka, Japan to attend the GT World Series 2025 World Finals, scheduled for 20–21 December. Polestar also notes that the winner is responsible for taxes and unspecified costs linked to the prize.

Read as a whole, the rollout looks like a calculated bridge between announcement and availability: a way to shorten the distance to customers while the real Polestar 5 is still on the way. If the promised accuracy of the digital version lands with players, it could function as an unusual “first test drive” moment—before physical test drives arrive in Polestar Spaces in 2026, and before the wider public gets access from mid-2026.