On 23 January (local time), the Japan Car Design Awards ceremony (hosted by Car Styling) was held at “The Gallery Too” in Minato-ku, Tokyo, where “Gran Turismo” received the Golden Marker Special Award in recognition of the contribution made with the “Vision Gran Turismo” project for the following reasons:

“For being an instrument about learning how to drive a car for those who are below the legal driving age and for learning about cars in general”, and “For giving opportunities to car designers around the world while broadening the vision of the market”. Gran Turismo has been working with famous brands worldwide since 2013 and this is another official recognition by the industry professionals.

“Gran Turismo” series Producer Kazunori Yamauchi attended the ceremony and was awarded the Commemorative Trophy. Other production and concept cars were also awarded during the ceremony.

Japan Car Design Awards 2015-2016 Award Winners and Judges
- Golden Marker Award for Production Cars: Mazda CX-3
- Golden Marker Award for Concept Cars: Yamaha Sports Ride Concept
- Golden Clay Award: Mazda RX-Vision

Head Judge: Kyoichi Yamaguchi (Motor Journalist)
Judges: Hideo Kodama (Car Designer), Tsutomu Aoto (Car Designer), Kiyokazu Maki (Coachbuilder), Noriyoshi Kurihara (Car Designer), Masatsugu Arimoto (Design Journalist), Toshiaki Sato (Product Designer), Hayato Furusho (Freelancer Writer), Hironobu Matsunaga (Car Styling Chief Editor).