Another thing is that if PD's intention for Group C being in Gr. 1 is to have more manufacturers get presence in that class, then what is the point of adding the R92CP when there's already the GT-R LM Nismo? Isn't it a waste of resources to have a Group C represent a brand that already has an LMP1?
My guess would be that it's somewhat related to how the car has already been in the games. I'm pretty sure that even if PD did indeed have to remodel it from the ground-up, the fact that the R92CP was already in the series likely influenced its inclusion in GTS. I don't think any of us know how long they work on updating these cars, nor if it necessarily always matches-up with the broader plan for a game, e.g. having Group C cars in Gr.1. For as little as we know, PD could've been improving multiple standard cars from GT5 before that game was even released, with the potential plan to use newer models on a future platform/title, being the PS4 and GTS in this case. Sort of like how at GameFreak, they render every Pokemon (and their various forms, etc.) with tons of polygons and detail, then effectively scale them down to comply with the hardware they're working with. It's one of the many reasons I'm excited for the Switch games (both Let's Go and the Fall 2019 game), given how much better the Switch is from a hardware perspective over the 3DS - but I digress.
That said, I think we could potentially agree on this hypothesized scenario I came up with: Gr.C could be both for Group C, but also the Group 5 and Group 6 cars that preceded that class. I recall Alpine having a notable Group 6 racer in this regard, and would allow Alpine to be in both Gr.1 with the VGT (and/or potentially a newer LMP) and in this new class. I think even Group 7, including the Toyota 7, could be in this class, as well as other Can-Am cars from Porsche, McLaren, and others. Between Groups 5, 6, 7, and C, we could see even the likes of Isuzu being in this group. Heck, I'm not even sure if we really even need Group 5 to be included here.
I also wanna discuss the two $20 million Gr.X cars. I think I understand why the Jaguar XJ13 is here, since it's a prototype race car that never actually raced - contrast this with the Lexus RC-F GT3 Prototype, which did race as it was being homologated. (IIRC, the Honda NSX Concept-GT was a similar scenario.) And given that the XJ13 isn't a road car like the Ford GT40 Mk.I, nor a homologation special like the BMW M3 E30 Sport Evolution, the XJ13 is almost like in this automotive purgatory. So I suppose that's why it's in Gr.X.
As for the Ferrari, it's the 1967 330 P4, not to be confused with the
1966 330 P4 that recently got awarded by PD at Pebble Beach. There are four altogether, with one converted from a P3 by Ferrari - so basically, it's more like three were made rather than four. The converted P3 was also scrapped after an accident, insofar that Ferrari themselves say that "[chassis number] 0846 no longer exists," so there's that. Now, the 330 P4 that's been in the series since GT5, with the #21 sticker, is chassis number 0858. It says that this one was "converted...into a Spyder for Brands Hatch, 1967, and later in the year converted into a 350 Can-Am... Now fitted with a P4 Berlinetta body..." Now for the Pebble Beach winner, it's specifically a 330 P4 Drogo Spyder (apparently named so for its bodywork designer, Piero Drogo), and according to the very GTPlanet article about it being awarded, it says it's owned by a certain Lawrence Stroll (and in the late 90s, it was even briefly owned by Bernie Eccelstone!), so after some research, I've found out that this 330 P4 that won the award was actually the first 330 P4 made of the three, and converted into a Spyder for Brands Hatch 1967. However, while all three were converted to Spyders for Brands Hatch 1967, chassis number 0856 was unlike the other two, as it was the only one of the three
not converted for Can-Am races later on. But one thing I don't understand is why it's said the year for 0856 is 1966 in both the screenshot of the Pebble Beach footage, and in the GTPlanet article text,
when its records say it first debuted in early 1967. Was the design finalized in 1966 or something?
Anyway, to get back to my initial point, I think 0858 is in Gr.X because there's just nothing really like it, or potentially nothing planned to be introduced to compete with it. Since 0858 was indeed one of the two 330 P4s converted for Can-Am, maybe it could indeed be in a group meant to encompass the real-world Group 7, including the Toyota 7. Otherwise, I'm not too sure what else to say here, including what group would best-fit the prize-winning 0856. Maybe a "classic Le Mans" group? It could include both the GT40 Mk.IV race car from GT5/6, but also the GT40 Mk.I race car. You could also include the Chaparral 2F, the Alpine A210, the Porsche 907 langheck (or the 910 kurzheck), the Abarth 1300 OT, a Lotus Mk.47, the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33, the Nissan R380 - heck, even the Pebble Beach-winning Alfa Romeo TZ2! Yeah, I think a new group could be for "classic tourers," maybe not necessarily exclusively ones that raced at Le Mans, but I'm thinking specifically stuff like Group 6 and Group 7, like the mid/late-60s Le Mans racers, or the Can-Am cars. Mostly stuff from the mid-60s to early-70s.
EDIT: Fun fact - the Ford GT40 Mk.I in GT6 and GTS is chassis number 1057! I also confirmed that it was indeed a road-going version, hence its inclusion in the N-series.
And it looks like it almost costs as much in real-world USD as it does in GTS credits, haha!
EDIT2: We also could consider the idea that maybe cars that are in Gr.X now could get out of Gr.X and be put into a new category in a future GT game, or maybe even a future GTS update for as little as we know. Maybe PD is just waiting to have enough cars ready to release that could race alongside a currently-Gr.X car, and the 0858 could get re-designated? Idk. I wonder if that's what Gr.A is meant for? It'd be a neat analogue to Gr.1 - to have two groups both known for a notable presence at Le Mans, but one is much older than the other, as if there's a generalized year cut-off of some sort. And if that is indeed so, could we hear more about this at Le Mans itself this weekend?!
EDIT3: If PD is going to add FIA GT1 cars to Gr.2, I don't remember if I said this already in a previous post, but the Jaguar XJ220 could appear here, too! As could the Toyota Supra LM and Nissan Skyline GT-R LM, the latter of which is arguably more widely known among GT players for its homologation model. Then there's the Ferrari F40 LM I mentioned in an earlier post, which IIRC raced in JGTC GT500 in one of its initial seasons. It all comes together - I think.
