Newest Gran Turismo 7 Time Trial Feels Like Flying a Tie Fighter

But I'm sure we'll be best pals when he realizes we share a common passion. He is already an honorary member of our Mazda Rotary Club. And I will always find it hilarious that he makes my dad show him racing videos on YouTube. I hope to finish my FC RX-7 project when he can ride in the passenger seat in ten years or sooner.

Until then, I must be happy with a mix of virtual and real racing. The good part is that the VR world is becoming ever more enticing with each passing day, but don't think for a second that all these changes will come cheap. Seeing that it's now the end of the month, we all expected to see Polyphony Digital announcing Patch 1.49 for Gran Turismo 7. The previous one delivered five new cars, including the Honda Civic EG6 and the NSX GT500, but people always want more vehicles to choose from.

I have heard rumors about the F1-powered Renault Espace, but it's not 100% sure for now. The problem is that we must be patient for a few more days. That's because the developer announced the latest update will arrive on July 6 during the Live Broadcast of Round 1 of the Gran Turismo World Series. Some fans pointed out that this could mean the update will contain a new venue: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Others have mentioned rumors of Pikes Peak while I'm here, and I'm hoping the Gunsai Touge will make it to the list, too. Anyway, enough about that for now. I thought I'd see a new Time Trial this week, but Polyphony Digital surprised everyone by releasing two of them. That means the Barcelona challenge came to an end. With my fast lap of 1:55.394, I finished 75,920th out of 158,200 players. It was good enough for a Bronze Record Reward and 250,000 credits for my virtual bank account.

Testing New Cars

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Gran Turismo 7 currently has a list of over 500 cars, but I have only bought 50 of them thus far. It's not necessarily my goal to get them all, but seeing all the little (or big) differences between them is fun. Once again, I couldn't find anything particularly interesting in Legends cars, but I knew I didn't want to choose something from Brand Central.

So, I stopped at the Used Car lot for three vehicles. I got the '71 Ford Mustang Mach 1 for just 36,800 credits. With just over 300 horsepower on tap and a weight of 3,560 lb (1,615 kilograms), I knew it wouldn't be particularly fast around the racetrack, but I still wanted to check it out. Seeing that one of the new Time Trials uses the Short Version of the Red Bull Ring, that was my destination for some practice.

I used my controller for the first part of my test, and the Mustang needed 1:09.585 to finish the lap. It feels almost like a boat, but not necessarily underpowered. Unsurprisingly, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI GSR TM I bought for 168,100 credits was exactly five seconds faster around the 1.45 mile (2,336-meter) long layout.

It was a lot feistier than initially expected, and there was more sideways action than I thought I'd get with an AWD vehicle. I always like to test cars in different classes, so my last choice was the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 for 337,200 credits. You can instantly tell it has as many cylinders as the two previous cars put together, and it doesn't take long to hit 124 mph (200 kph). It's slightly heavy around the corners, but I still did a sub-1-minute lap at the Red Bull Ring.

I realized I hadn't bought the new 992 GT3 RS yet, and a 340,000 credits price tag didn't get in the way. It's not as fast in a straight line as the Lambo, but there's so much traction in every circumstance that I did a 56.852 lap in Austria on my second attempt. And you can add the "Gone in 60 Seconds" label to it if you're talking about the Tsukuba Circuit, too.

Red Bull Ring Short Track

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Let's start with the slow car first, shall we? Sure, the 1989 BMW M3 Sport Evolution is a fast car, but it's nowhere close to what you'll drive in the other Time Trial. Once I started the challenge, I realized something that almost made me shed a tear. When the global pandemic started several years ago, I got more involved with sim racing.

My local league had organized a race using this exact car on this precise track. I didn't do well, as I had to rely on a keyboard, and the car wanted to go sideways badly. Using the controller is a lot easier, though, and I expected a decent result. Once again, user Jeddah_Racing leads the scoreboard with a fast lap of 58.603. There aren't that many drivers in the world that have dipped below the 59-second marker yet, and I didn't expect I could even do a sub-60-second lap.

After a few laps, I was at 1:03.520, which was already good enough for the Bronze Record Reward. Switching to the steering wheel, I was more precise with my inputs and improved to 1:02.949. I included a video guide that should help you get that gold medal, and I'm sure I can get to that level after a few more hours of practicing, too.

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

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The Red Bull X2019 Competition is a concept car. I didn't think much of going into the challenge. I assumed it would be fast, but I've never driven something like this before. At least I was happy that Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta was back on the menu, as I had practiced on it in April with the KTM X-Bow R. Seeing the shape of the Red Bull car and reading its stats will quickly tell you all you need to know about it: It's a mid-engine (V12), rear-wheel-drive setup with over 800 horsepower that weighs 1,433 lbs (650 kg).

I knew I couldn't even come close to its full potential using the controller despite running a 1:10.904 lap after four attempts. I was still 11 seconds away from the fastest driver (K. de Bruin this time), but I had high hopes that switching to the steering wheel would make a huge difference. Let me tell you something: once I had my VR headset on, this thing was more like a tie-fighter than a race car.

It loves cruising at speeds of over 186 mph (300 kph) and will only stop at 198 mph (320 kph). It's very stable if you aren't doing anything stupid, so expect some sideways action in certain circumstances. After just six laps, my fastest one was a 1:04.651. That's 2.3 seconds away from the Silver Record Reward.

The video guide I included below should help you improve your results, but remember: knowing the track inside-out is crucial! You will be much faster after 100 laps than you are starting out because practice makes perfect. Still, with all the speed, it didn't feel as exciting as the first Time Trial. And I think I'll give that one another go soon.