Gran Turismo 2 (1999)
Polyphony Digital's Encyclopedic Two-Disc PlayStation Sequel With Nearly 650 Cars and Rally
Gran Turismo 2 is a 1999 sim-racing sequel directed by Kazunori Yamauchi at Polyphony Digital for the PlayStation. Splitting Arcade Mode and Gran Turismo Mode across two CD-ROMs—memorably printed in Western regions with scratch-and-sniff pit-lane tire ink—it expanded the car roster more than fourfold to nearly 650 licensed vehicles, added dirt rally racing and Laguna Seca, earned a 93/100 Metascore, and sold 9.37 million copies.
An Automotive Encyclopedia Spanning Kei Cars to the Escudo Pikes Peak
Now operating as Sony's autonomous Polyphony Digital studio following the blockbuster success of the 1997 original, Kazunori Yamauchi treated Gran Turismo 2 as an interactive museum of twentieth-century motoring. Requiring separate Arcade and Simulation discs to fit on PlayStation media, its catalog exploded from 140 vehicles to nearly 650 cars from thirty-three Japanese, European, and American marques—celebrating quirky 660cc kei commuters like the Daihatsu Midget II alongside Le Mans prototypes, Vector supercars, and the twin-turbocharged 981-horsepower Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak Version, whose ferocious acceleration turned oval speed-test tuning into a rite of passage for an entire console generation.
Dirt Rally Stages, Laguna Seca, and Scratch-and-Sniff Nostalgia
Gran Turismo 2 broadened its driving physics beyond tarmac with dedicated gravel-and-dirt Rally events across Tahiti and Pikes Peak hillclimbs alongside the franchise's first licensed real-world circuit, California's Corkscrew-equipped Laguna Seca Raceway, across twenty-seven total layouts. Western copies famously opened to The Cardigans' 'My Favorite Game' and featured blue scratch-and-sniff Simulation discs scented to smell like burnt rubber and pit-lane exhaust. Though holiday manufacturing deadlines left minor completion-percentage glitches in initial North American pressings (reaching 98.2 percent before later reissues), GT2 captured a 93/100 Metascore and 9.37 million sales as the PlayStation's third best-selling release.