Gran Turismo 6 playable demo to drop on July 2

If you weren't one of the lucky thousands that got to sample a slice of Gran Turismo 6 at this year's E3 show (like, ahem, me...), not to worry. As promised, Polyphony Digital and Sony have announced that a downloadable demo of the game is coming to the Playstation Network on July 2. Go ahead and clear your schedule for that day, we'll wait.

We're told that the GT6 demo will also serve as the first round of qualifying for the 2013 instantiation of the GT Academy. Gamers that put up the best qualifying times will have the chance to advance to the national finals, all with the goal of winning a spot in a Silverstone race camp.

The Gran Turismo 6 demo/qualifying challenge will involve racing vehicles from Academy sponsor Nissan: Leaf, 370Z and GT-R. The qualifying contest ends on August 31, but if you're late to the table, don't sweat it – the demo will still be available to download and play after that. Scroll down below for a video.