Tom Burt, who owns #203 of the all-electric sports car made by the Silicon Valley company, wrote on Tesla's "Customer Blog":

A team of sound engineers from Microsoft Game Studios (some working on Forza, some on Project Gotham Racing) asked if I was willing to take my Roadster to a track so they could record a variety of sounds. Some time ago they had the opportunity to record Tesla motor noises when a prototype was being run on a dyno at Tesla. But the teams were excited about the prospect of recording other sounds, particularly tire skid and squeal noises, without the interference of loud engine and exhaust noise. Of course I said "yes."

Burt provided pics of his miked-up ride, which you can see above. (There are more at the link).

Burt is listed on Microsoft's official site as a corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for litigation. The Tesla Roadster did appear in PGR 4 (released 2007). Of course, why would they re-record the engine note if it wasn't needed for a new game? It could also be that Burt misspoke or misunderstood who was asking for the audio.

We've reported on rumors of PGR 5 in development in the past, so this is not exactly surprising. Still, I've emailed Microsoft to notify them of Burt's comments and ask them for one.

Microsoft Executive Confirms PGR5 in the Works [Kokugamer via GameStooge]

It's called "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition", and can be glimpsed oh-so-briefly in that Zune gaming video we showed you the other day.

I love PGR, and was sad to see it go by the wayside when Bizarre Creations split for Activision. But a Zune game? Made by someone who is not Bizarre? It's just not the same.

On a brighter note, the Zune HD will be getting a more appropriate game later this year, with Audiosurf Tilt, a Zune version of the classic PC rhythm title, being ported to a device that's as perfect a fit as you could hope for.

One final game announced today was Vans Sk8: Pool Service, but we know nothing about it other than the fact it'll involve skating, and perhaps the prospect of even more ridiculously misspelled words.

I'm not going to mention numbers but not really, with the exception of Mario Kart, which has done very well because it's a Mario Kart game. That is the exception rather than the rule. But generally titles, I won't name any names, more recent titles that were really good, critically acclaimed and we all played them, they didn't sell as well as can be expected. I know sales is one thing, but sales are reflective of people who are interested in the concept and interested in what they want to play. So if it's not selling then the developers are doing something wrong and pushing it in the wrong area. We totally rebooted with Blur. All of these things we think are wrong; we're trying to fix them.

The people sure love their Mario Kart. Shame they don't love other racing games as much. Upcoming racer Blur is Bizarre's bet that it can put out a racing title that does well with critics and retail. We shall see.

Blur Interview [VideoGamer]

Speaking with Edge, the studio's creative director Martyn Chudley has told of Bizarre's final weeks with Microsoft, as development on Project Gotham Racing 4 (which I maintain is the best racing game of this generation) was being wound up.

I'm not going to slag [Microsoft] off in an evil way, but obviously we worked on PGR4 for them, and I think that PGR4 was the strongest Gotham game we did – the most fully rounded. But towards the end of that project they wanted us to bring it in early, to chop six weeks off development. But the way we work is really right up to the wire, so basically the game is nowhere near finished at six weeks to go, so we had to dig our heels in and say that our contract said that we're to bring the game in on this day, and that's what we were going to do because we cannot compromise the work that the lads have been doing, and the quality of the game.

They didn't realise how bad a situation it would have been – we needed that extra six weeks, and it got us concerned with the future with Microsoft… We were getting disillusioned with Microsoft and they were getting corporate and cocky as well because of the shift in power between them and Sony.

Perfectly understandable, and stupid of Microsoft to let one of their better studios get away like that. But, uh, why the deal with Activision, of all people? How can the publisher that makes exploitation of a franchise a core business aim be any better?

Interview: Bizarre Creations' Martyn Chudley [Edge]

Rumor: Turn 10 To Develop Project Gotham 5, Announcement Soon [AddictGaming]

Earlier, we reported that French car maker Peugeot let it slip that there was going to be a Project Gotham Racing 4. The surprising bit wasn't that there's gonna be a PGR 4 (duh), but that Peugeot had presumably announced this via a design competition on its website. The winner's design would appear in the yet-unreveiled Project Gotham Racing game.

The auto company's site has been now wiped clean of any mention to PGR 4, instead saying that the contest winner's design will appear in an Xbox 360 game. End point. A tipster also sends word that sponsors for the contest have been sent the following email:

Dear Partner,

Could you please modify the information on your web site. The idea is to delete all information relative to the Project Gotham Racing 4 video game.

Many thanks

Funny, I would've thought the idea was to never mention the game in the first place. And covering it up? Well. Brian Ashcraft

Just an "Xbox 360 Game" [Peugeot] Thanks, Ociotakus!

A Toys R Us Canada employee and faithful Kotaku reader sends in word that the fabled Xbox 360 Pro Bundle has officially hit the toy store's inventory system. He even sent us this picture to prove it, along with a bunch of others, the tease.

The mole says that the system is listed at $499 and comes with an Xbox 360 premium console, copy of Project Gotham Racing 3, a 1,250 point cade and three months of Xbox Live Gold. While the price listed in the photo is Canadian, I'm guessing that the price in the U.S. will be same as the current premium console price, or $399.

Currently, the regular Premium bundle is listed at the same price, but the tipster believes that will change when the console bundle starts selling. No word yet on when the bundle will start officially selling, but we'll make sure to update you when we find out. Brian Crecente

Bizarre Creations, the developer responsible for Project Gotham Racing, is driving crappy cars across Europe. Ironic yes, but it's all to raise money for charity. Dubbed the "Scumball Rally 3000," the 4-day Vanishing Point-style drive will take fearless Bizarre staffers across Europe. Cool wheels, and the bullet holes are a nice touch. Check out more pics after the jump.

More Info Here [Bizarre] via UK Resistance
Donate Here [Just Giving]

kkarmkh: Dude, it is unquestioned fact that in FPS, keyboard/mouse is the way to go.
kkarmkh: You think there's a reason why multiplayer for FPS is never on the same server? It's because keyboard/mouse people would wipe the floor with the console players.
kotakujapan: okay. in fps. sure. ill buy that. but, gaming in general, controllers seem far more natural.
kkarmkh: Really? Also for RTS? Name one RTS for console.
kkarmkh: :-)
kotakujapan: okay. think of about it this way. would you rather play the 360 with a mouse and a keyboard or with the controller?
kkarmkh: If I were playing PDZ, defo keyboard.
kkarmkh: If I were playing Quake 4, keyboard.
kkarmkh: If I were playing King Kong, keyboard.
kotakujapan: LOL
kkarmkh: In fact, Madden, keyboard.
kotakujapan: that, my friend is wack.
kkarmkh: Sorry, consoles are good for platformers, RPG.
kkarmkh: And those are my least favorite genres.
kotakujapan: what about pgr?
kkarmkh: Heh. Good one.
kkarmkh: Well, ok, controller.
kotakujapan: there ya go.