More of the content added in the recent 1.63 update is making a competitive debut in the new Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial this week, as we see a return to the regular setup.
After the Hyundai Elantra and Opel Corsa VGT had their two weeks in the limelight, it’s now the turn of the highly limited, Japanese-market Mazda Spirit Racing Roadster 12R, for a thrash around Deep Forest Raceway.
The unusual name comes from Mazda’s racing department, Spirit Racing, and reflects the fact that the little Roadster has had a great deal of racetrack know-how thrown at it. While road-legal, if desired, it’s essentially a factory track toy, from the world’s best-selling small convertible sports car.
At present the car doesn’t have any power or weight listed in the game (though it’s modelled at 197hp and 1,050kg), which will generate an amusing BOP screenshot showing neither, to reflect the fact that the real thing isn’t entirely finalized yet. It also can’t be tuned, although this is likely to be a short-term situation as Mazda wants players to experience the car in its intended form first.
You’ll be doing just that this week, aiming to get the 12R around Deep Forest as quickly as possible, and the current record is sitting in the low-mid area of 1:47s. Times are clustering too, which suggests the limit isn’t far away.
With the various prize brackets being dynamic, depending on the current world record, that sets gold at a 1:50.594 right now. Given how close the top of the leaderboard is, we’re not going to expect all that much movement; a 1:50.4 is probably going to be enough to be safe, we reckon, but you should aim for a 1:50.3 if you want some breathing room.
With the recent clutch of special events expiring we’re down to the normal two-event line-up, which leaves last week’s new challenge in the Ford Mustang Gr.4 at Mount Panorama the only remaining one with a week left to run.
Times have not quite reached the level we were expecting, which does suggest that our estimate from last week for the gold target is still going to be enough. The world record is a 2:13.397, setting gold just below a 2:17.4 — so that 2:17.2 we said last week would be required looks like a safe bet. As always, aim to go quicker than that, in case of last-second time-sniping.
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 October 16.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge October 9 – Deep Forest
- Track: Deep Forest Raceway
- Car: Mazda Spirit Racing Roadster 12R ’23 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge October 2 – Mount Panorama
- Track: Mount Panorama
- Car: Ford Mustang Gr.4 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
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