Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial fans have another new combination to try out this week, as the global hot-lap competition continues.
With an event for road cars just concluding, Polyphony Digital has replaced like-for-like, only not with a modern Japanese performance car but a line-leading German one from 30 years back.
There’s arguably nothing more iconic in terms of everyday performance than BMW’s entry-level “M” offerings, with the Motorsport branch waving a magic wand over the brand’s 3 Series sedan (and coupe, wagon, and cabrio) on every generation since 1986.
This E36-based M3 is one that resonates with car enthusiasts as, while not being the original, it’s the first to use that characterful straight six engine. This added the soundtrack that, for all its positives, the E30 was missing with its coarse four.
You’ll be experiencing the ultimate driving machine at one of Gran Turismo’s original circuits, with Dragon Trail Gardens (despite the thumbnail showing Seaside!) hosting the time trial on its reverse layout. Keeping the M3 pointing forwards will be the challenge, on Sports Hard tires, as you can see above!
These relatively low-powered road car challenges can be tight and highly competitive, and we’re already seeing an early charge towards the 1:47-barrier. Currently the world record is a 1:48.269, but we’ve seen tenths chipped away throughout the morning so we’re not expecting that to stick.
With the times falling, the 1:51.5 target for gold probably won’t last all that long, but there’s a good chance that if you can hit a 1:50 of any kind you should be safe for the 2m credit reward.
There’s still a week to go on the high-speed Genesis X Gran Racer time trial at Circuit de Sainte-Croix A, and the times are already well into our predicted region. Currently the world record stands at a 2:37.228, setting the gold boundary at a 2:41.944. We’re not sure there’s a lot more time to come — a 2:36.x seems unlikely — but you might like another tenth or so to be safe.
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 24.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge October 17 – Dragon Trail Gardens
- Track: Dragon Trail Gardens Reverse
- Car: BMW M3 ’97 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge October 10 – Circuit de Sainte-Croix
- Track: Circuit de Sainte-Croix A
- Car: Genesis X Gran Racer Vision GT – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
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