Right on cue, Polyphony Digital has confirmed the new content coming to Gran Turismo 7 in the next update, 1.44, when it becomes available on Thursday March 28.
A new video reveals the identities of the three cars coming in this month’s update following the teaser posted by series creator Kazunori Yamauchi over the weekend, although the keen-eyed will have already guessed all three.
That’s accompanied by an announcement confirming some of the rest of the update, with new events and other new contents, although there’s still plenty more details that we won’t know about until the update itself arrives at around 0600 UTC on Thursday.
Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.44 New Cars
For most Gran Turismo fans, the car that’s leading the way in the interest stakes in this update is the Toyota GT-One. It’s been a favorite since it made its debut in the series in Gran Turismo 2, and finally comes to the latest generation of GT games in perhaps its most celebrated form.
That’s the #3 car from the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, which came so close to scoring a famous victory but fell short in the final hour to a puncture — the GT-One’s Achilles’ heel — likely caused by an incident with privateer BMW V12 LM, no relation to the winning LMR.
As we’re expecting the car to be available (for quite a high sum) in the Legends Cars dealer, it’s not likely that, unlike other race cars available in GT7, you’ll be able to select the #1 and #2 cars — both of which retired during the race — as alternative liveries.
Both of the other vehicles in the update are recent entries from the Volkswagen Group, although pretty high up the pricing scale and easily six-figure cars in Brand Central.
Firstly there is the second generation Audi R8, in its V10 Plus form. Although we’ve had the racing version of this car since the game launched, this is the first appearance in the series for the second (and final) generation of the vehicle, with its 601hp, 5.2-liter V10 engine.
Adding a bit of bulk to procedings is the final car, and Gran Turismo 7’s first SUV: the Lamborghini Urus. Sharing underpinnings with the Bentley Bentayga, the four-liter, twin-turbo, V8-powered Urus is a veritable iron fist in an iron glove, and the first SUV in the series since the Infiniti FX45, Land Rover Range Stormer, and Mazda MX-Crossport.
Oddly, the official update article notes that it will contain “4 new cars”, but as only three are listed we’re assuming that to be an error — unless PD has something secret up its sleeves…
Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.44 New Menu Books and Events
One new Extra Menu Book will be coming in the update, setting players with a collection task. This book will be themed around Jaguar, and from the preview image it looks like you’ll need to pick up three cars from the Legends Cars dealer.
Handily one is available right now if you need to prepare, with the Jaguar XJR-9 ’88 race car appearing in the dealer yesterday, alongside the E-Type and XJ220. It’s not clear what the reward for the book is, but given the high prices of these vehicles — the XJR-9 particularly — we hope it’s something valuable!
Additionally there’ll be three new races added to World Circuits. A new race at Blue Moon Bay in the European Clubman Cup 600 and a Schwarzwald League event at High Speed Ring sound middling, but there could be a lucrative addition in the shape of a World Touring Car 900 race at the Le Mans course. We’ll have to wait until the patch notes to find out prize values for these races though.
Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.44 Other New Features
A new set of Scapes will be available, based around the Fukushima Prefecture. This selection of 29 new locations looks as if it centers on the natural beauty of the region, also known as the “Fruit Kingdom”.
There’s also a curious new set of decals available in the Livery Editor. These are based on a new anime series, set for broadcast in Japan starting on April 6, called “Highspeed Etoile”. 26 decal presets depicting the title logos and main characters will be included “for a limited time” — although the window of availability hasn’t yet been announced.
As ever, there’s more details that aren’t included in these preview announcements. We’d expect another set of around five new engine swaps to be made available, and there’s doubtless other changes on the way too. However it looks increasingly likely that the wait for a new, surfaced race track location will extend into a 14th month.
The game’s servers will go offline for the update maintenance at 0600 UTC on March 28, whereupon you’ll be able to download and apply the update. However you won’t be able to play it in full until the servers return at around 0800 UTC.
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