Following the new update this morning, the latest new Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial brings some of the new content into play in a high-speed event that’ll scramble your senses.
It’s no surprise that with four new cars in play we’re going to be thrust right into one of them, and thrust is very much the word here as it’s the Corvette CX.R Vision Gran Turismo that’s the center of attention in this new event.
A racing interpretation of Chevrolet’s own CX Concept, presented two weeks back at The Quail during Monterey Car Week, the Vision GT variant has the same basic body — down to the front-opening canopy with a full, augmented reality screen — and active downforce system but a very different way of delivering power.
Swapping out the quad-motor system of the CX, the CX.R is a hybrid based around a compact, 900hp, two-liter twin-turbo V8. That’s supplemented by two individual in-wheel motors on the front, and a third within the gearbox to give 2,000hp and all-wheel drive.
Putting that into the confines of Laguna Seca seems unwise, even on the Racing Soft tires required, but that’s exactly what you’ll be doing over the next couple of weeks in this global hotlap competition. Currently the world record for doing so is a 1:04.7, which is a second faster than the all-time lap record here set in a 2003 Ferrari F1 car.
While that means that the gold target is presently a 1:06.654 — faster than the Porsche 919 Evo — the brackets move based on the percentage gap to the top time overall. It’s hard to get a bead on what’s possible here, given how new the car is, but we’d tentatively say that you’ll need a low-1:06 to remain in the gold reward area when the two weeks are up.
Last week’s marginally saner event, featuring the original, V8-powered Audi R8 at Dragon Trail Gardens, remains accessible for another week, and times are pretty much in the zone we were expecting.
Currently the world record is a 1:42.634, and with the times getting compacted towards the top of the leaderboard it doesn’t look like there’s a great deal left in the tank here. We originally estimated that a 1:45.5 would be good enough for gold, and with 1:45.713 being the current boundary it looks like that’ll remain the case even if someone can sneak in another tenth before the event ends.
In order to access the Online Time Trials, you’ll need to unlock Sport Mode, by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe single player hub. As it’s just you against the clock and not a direct, head-to-head multiplayer event, PlayStation Plus is not required.
You’ll usually need to be within 3% of the fastest time globally once the event finishes in order to secure “gold” status and a 2m credit bonus prize. There’s smaller prizes of one million for being within 5%, and 250,000cr for bronze at 10% off.
The events update every Thursday, with each individual challenge usually remaining available for two weeks and the oldest of the two events being replaced each week. You can look forward to the next new Time Trial arriving at 0700 UTC on Thursday September 4.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge August 28 – Laguna Seca
- Track: Laguna Seca
- Car: Chevrolet Corvette CX.R VGT Concept – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (L)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge August 21 – Dragon Trail
- Track: Dragon Trail Gardens
- Car: Audi R8 4.2 FSI ’07 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
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