The latest Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial is now available, with a classic car starring in a brand new global hot lap event.
For the next two weeks you’ll be competing with players all round the world to set the fastest lap times in a car that was part of one of the earliest attempts to create a sub-brand: the Dino 246 GT.
Ferrari developed Dino as a path into the Ferrari family at a lower price point than its big 12-cylinder models, with the name coming from the small V6 at the heart of these sports cars. That, in turn, was named for Enzo Ferrari’s eldest son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, who had worked on developing the engine before his death in 1956 from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
First adorning a selection of race cars, starting in 1957, the Dino brand was attached to road cars starting with the 206 GT — powered, of course, by a two-liter version of the V6. That grew into the 246 GT, with a more powerful 2.4-liter engine but similar performance due to the use of more low-cost steel than the aluminum-bodied 206.
While never sold or badged as a Ferrari, the parent company considers Dino vehicles to be part of the Ferrari family and its owners to be Ferrari owners. You can join that club right now, as the car is currently available in the Used Car Dealer.
The Time Trial takes place at an appropriately Italian circuit — marking a rare occasion in which both time trials use combos based in the same country — at the fictional Sardegna Road Track location. It’s the compact C course hosting the event, in the reverse direction.
If you don’t pick up an example of the car you can borrow one for the event, which will come with the required Comfort Soft tires already fitted. It’s a relatively short lap, with record times already dropping to a flat 1:04 and requiring a 1:05.9 to break into the gold bracket. With so few braking zones there’s not a lot of room for improvement here, but you might want to eye up a mid-1:05 to be safe.
There’s still a week left on the 24 Heures du Mans Time Trial which began on March 7. Times pretty rapidly fell to the expected mark, with gold currently at 4:21.5 against a world record of 4:13.9. We’re not sure anyone’s going to be taking chunks off that, but even so you might want to get into the 4:20s to be a little more relaxed…
You’ll 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.
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.
The events update every Thursday, with each individual challenge 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 March 21.
Lap Time Challenge March 14 – Sardegna Road Track C
- Track: Sardegna Road Track C Reverse
- Car: Ferrari Dino 246 GT ’71- Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (L)
- Tires: Comfort Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Lap Time Challenge March 7 – 24 Heures du Mans
- Track: 24 Heures du Mans
- Car: Bugatti Veyron Gr.4 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Racing Hard
- Settings: Fixed
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