There’s quite a lot to cover as the big free Gran Turismo 7 Spec II Update 1.40 is out now from Polyphony Digital. It starts with a new intro when you load the game, and also includes new cars, a snow track, menus and challenges, and up to four player split screen racing on the PS5 version. Plus the return of the bespoke artificial intelligence racing opponent, with Sophy 2.0 now available across many more cars and tracks.
New Cars
There’s a pretty good selection of new cars included with the Spec II update, as it covers classics and modern machinery from America, Germany and Japan, from the iconic Dodge Charge R/T to a 2023 Model 3 Tesla. Plus the venerable Mercedes-Benz 190 E and Nismo 400R from the 1990s, and the track-focused Porsche 911 GT3 RS 992. It’s a sizeable number of new additions.
- Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi ’68
- Dodge Challenger SRT Demon ’18
- Lexus LFA ’10
- Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II ’91
- NISMO 400R ’95
- Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) ’22
- Tesla Model 3 Performance ’23
The new Lake Louise snow track
If you strap on your snow tyres, it will now be possible to race three versions of the new fictional Lake Louise circuit, set inside a Canadian ski resort. And it also features lighting for night sessions on the Tri-Oval, Long or Short configurations.
Sophy 2.0
The AI agent returns to the PlayStation 5 version of Gran Turismo 7, and has been vastly expanded. The original version could be used with four cars and circuits. Now it’s available for 340 cars (95% of those currently in the game) on nine different tracks, with adjustment to support players of all levels and abilities.
New single player challenges and licences
The update adds to the single player experience with 50 new Master Licence events after you’ve cleared the normal challenges. And there will now be five Standard and two Expert level races available in the World Circuits pavillion, along with Quick Race, and a new Weekly Challenge once you’ve finished Cafe Menu Book No 39 and watched the end credits. Competing these will unlock roulette tickets as rewards.
Along with a new dashboard to track your progression and a Polyphony Digital Tokyo Office Scapes Spot, slower shutter speeds have also been added for photos.
Multiplayer
The Meeting Place has been changed to Paddocks to allow you to chat with other players and view their cars. But the bigger news is that for the PS5 only, you can now race in up to four player split-screen racing as long as you own enough controllers.
Gran Turismo 7 Spec II Update 1.40 Release Notes:
Main Features Implemented
1. Opening Movie
- The opening cinematic that plays when starting up the game has been updated. After the update, the ‘Play Opening Movie’ option will be set to ‘On’ when the game will be started the next time.
2. Cars
- The following seven new cars have been added:
・Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi ’68 (Sold at the ‘Legend Cars’ dealership)
・Dodge Challenger SRT Demon ’18
・Lexus LFA ’10
・Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II ’91 (Sold at the ‘Legend Cars’ dealership)
・NISMO 400R ’95 (Sold at the ‘Legend Cars’ dealership)
・Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) ’22
・Tesla Model 3 Performance ’23
3. Tracks
- The ‘Lake Louise’ race track has been added in six different layouts:
・Lake Louise Long Track
・Lake Louise Long Track Reverse
・Lake Louise Short Track
・Lake Louise Short Track Reverse
・Lake Louise Tri-Oval
・Lake Louise Tri-Oval Reverse
The new track will be unlocked at Collector Level 22.
4. World Circuits
- ‘Meeting Place’ has been replaced with the ‘Paddock.’ This mode can be accessed from the ‘World Circuits’ or ‘Multiplayer’ pavilions and enables players to communicate with one another through text chat and emoticons;
- ‘Arcade Race’ has been replaced with ‘Quick Race.’ Also, in addition to the existing AI, players can select to race a prototype of the AI racing agent ‘Gran Turismo Sophy.’ (Only available on the PS5 version in specific tracks and cars);
- The prizes for Quick Race and Custom Race have been increased. Credits awarded for these races increase based on the player’s Collector Level and Circuit Experience progress;
- ‘Weekly Challenges’ have been added, where players can face events that change every week. This mode becomes available after clearing Menu Book No. 39 (‘Championship: World GT Series’) and having watched the ending;
- An ‘Event Directory’ button has been added to make it easy to find all the race events currently available;
- A ‘Change Car’ button has been added;
- ‘Circuit Experience’ has been added to ‘Lake Louise’ track in the ‘Americas’ section;
- The following new events have been added to ‘World Circuits’:
・World Touring Car 900
- Trial Mountain Circuit
- Nürburgring
- Suzuka Circuit
- Autopolis
・X2019 Nations Cup
- Interlagos Circuit
- Trial Mountain Circuit
- Dragon Trail
- Lago Maggiore Circuit
- Sardegna – Road Track
・World Rally Challenge Gr.B
- Lake Louise
・Japanese 4WD Challenge 600
- Lake Louise
・Pickup Truck Race
- Lake Louise
・Clubman Cup+
- Special Stage RouteＸ
- Watkins Glen International
- Monza Circuit
- Fuji Speedway
・GT Cup Gr.3
- Daytona International Speedway
- Deepforest Raceway
- Redbull Ring
- Mount Panorama
5. Licence Center
- ‘Master Licences’ have been added to Licence. This licence is unlocked after completing the ‘Normal Licence.’
6. Brand Central
- New Museum section for ‘Abarth’ has been added for Europe (Italy);
7. Café
- The following Menu Books have been added:
・Menu Book No.48: ‘World Touring Car 900’ (Collector Level 39 and above);
・Menu Book No.49: ‘Nations Cup’ (Collector Level 50 and above);
- The following Extra Menus have been added:
・ Extra Menu No.31: ‘Collection: Road-Going Racers’ (Collector Level 30 and above);
・Extra Menu No.32: ‘Collection: Lexus’ (Collector Level 34 and above);
・Extra Menu No.33: ‘Collection: Red Bull X Series’ (Collector Level 50 and above);
– Added new sets of conversations with the Car Designers and Characters appearing in the Café. These new conversations can be accessed by changing to the following cars in ‘Garage’ and speaking with the Characters in the Café:
CAR DESIGNERS
- Ed Welburn
・Dodge Challenger SRT Demon ’18
・Ferrari FXX K ’14
- Fabio Filippini
・DS DS3 Racing
・Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
・Ferrari F430
- Freeman Thomas
・Volkswagen 1200
・Volkswagen Samba Bus
- Hideo Kodama
・Jaguar XJ13 ’66
- Shiro Nakamura
・Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4
・NISMO 400R
8. GT Auto
- Car Maintenance & Service
Engine Swaps have been added for the following cars (Unlocked at Collector Level 50):
・Chevrolet Corvette C7 Gr.3 Road Car
・Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (C6) ’09
・Dodge Viper GTS ’13
・Ford Mustang Gr.3 Road Car
・Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 ’15
・Lexus RC F ’14
・Mazda Atenza Gr.3 Road Car
・Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition Gr.B Road Car
・Nissan GT-R Nismo ’17
・Subaru WRX Gr.B Road Car
- Car Customisation
The following brands have been added to the pre-set decals in the Livery Editor:
・Spoon
9. Tuning Shop
- ‘Snow Tyres’ have been added to the Tuning Shop.
10. Scapes
- The ‘Player’s Favourites’ collection has been added as a featured Curation in Scapes;
- The ‘Polyphony Digital Tokyo Office’ has been added as a new Spot under ‘Japan’ > ‘Tokyo’;
- A ‘Rendering Quality’ option has been added in the ‘Detailed Settings’ section of the ‘Camera’ tab: ‘Standard,’ ‘Fine.’ and ‘Extra Fine’ can now be selected to increase the number of subframes when rendering and increase the quality of photos with movement.
11. Race Photos
- Changed the height limit of Walk Mode for certain tracks so that it is now possible to take photos from a higher position;
- New ‘Shutter Speed’ values have been added. It is now possible to select a speed between 1s and 1/30s;
- A ‘Rendering Quality’ option has been added in the ‘Detailed Settings’ section of the ‘Camera’ tab: ‘Standard,’ ‘Fine.’ and ‘Extra Fine’ can now be selected to increase the number of subframes when rendering and increase the quality of photos with movement.
12. Replay
- A ‘Replay Loop’ option has been added in the Replay Options. (Only available for regular replays.)
13. GT Menu
- A new dashboard, which shows completion rates for each of the various World Map pavilions, have been added.
14. Multiplayer
- ‘Paddock’ and ‘Split Screen Race’ have been added. In ‘Split Screen Race’, up to 4 players, each with their own controller, can now race together. (PS5 version only.)
15. Sport
- Indicators have been added to the Driver List in the post-race screen to show the variations in the Driver Rating (DR) and Sportsmanship Rating (SR).
Other Improvements and Adjustments
1. Cars
- Fixed an issue with the ‘Garage RCR Civic’ wherein the anti-roll bar setting could not be changed after a fully customised suspension had been fitted;
- Increased the viewable range of the interior of the ‘Toyota Ambulance Himedic ’21’ in the VR Showroom.
2. Localisation
- Fixed various text localisation issues.
3. Others
- Various other issues have been addressed.
Keep up all the latest news on Gran Turismo 7 or check out the latest reveals in our Gran Turismo 7 car list and the Gran Turismo 7 track list. You can obviously buy Gran Turismo 7 from the PlayStation Store or pick up physical copies from retailers including Game and Amazon.
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