A fan-favorite, PlayStation 3-era circuit is making its return to the Gran Turismo series, as Polyphony Digital has revealed that Eiger Nordward will be coming to GT7 in update 1.49 this month.
The update was, unusually, revealed at the Gran Turismo World Series live event in Montreal today, between races in the Manufacturers Cup. A short trailer, similar to those we normally see, showed off the contents and it’s fair to say that it came as something of a surprise — not least because it’s the first road course added since Grand Valley in February 2023.
GTPlanet reported on the possibility of the Eiger course getting a makeover for a reappearance in the series back in August 2023, as the region appeared in a Sony Creators Conference presentation. The PD crew was shown photographing the landscape from a helicopter, and the slides included a number of 3D models of buildings like the Kleine Scheidegg railway station.
The original Eiger Nordward circuit appeared first in Gran Turismo HD, as the only course in the game along with its reverse variant. While only a short, 1.5-mile course, the track was tricky, and featured some spectacular scenery.
After appearing in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the location was expanded for Gran Turismo 5 and 6 with an additional three off-road courses. However, it joined so many other locations in the great GT recycle bin (or rather ashtray), as it was cut from the selection for Gran Turismo Sport.
For the 1.49 update only the Eiger Nordwand track itself is mentioned, so it’s looking like we’re getting the original, hard-top track only and not the later rally additions. It also looks to be very close to the original layout too, unlike some of the other classics which has been modified, although we’re not quite sure where the pit lane is this time round.
This very welcome addition is also accompanied by one of the larger sets of cars in a game update in GT7’s lifetime, as six new vehicles join the roster. It’s also a list heavily tinged with PS3-era nostalgia, featuring two cars that made their series debut and one which GT fans might recognize from the GTHD trailers but not the game itself.
Those first two are the track-honed, Scuderia version of the Ferrari F430 and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. They’ll be joined by another supercar, in the shape of the all-new, 2016 Ruf RGT 4.2 — a rare addition for the Ruf brand in the era of freely available Porsche licensing.
One we’ve not been expecting fills in a long-standing gap in Gran Turismo’s car list, as the 1997, E36-generation BMW M3 will be part of the update. It’s not the first time we’ve seen an E36, but it is the first appearance for the M3 of this generation.
Finally there’s two race cars, with the 1998 version of the Subaru Impreza WRC likely to join the Group B line-up, and the anticipated racing version of the Genesis Vision Gran Turismo car which we’re expecting to be a Gr.1 vehicle.
- BMW M3 (E36) 1997
- Ferrari F430 Scuderia 2007
- Genesis Gran X Racer Vision Gran Turismo Concept
- Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 2008
- Ruf RGT 4.2 2016
- Subaru Impreza WRC 1998
That’s not quite everything in the update though, as there’s an expansion of the Gran Turismo Sophy offering to include two new circuits: the Nurburgring 24h course and Autodrome Lago Maggiore’s Full Course.
New tires, new wheels, and, interestingly, “new physics” are also touted, although we’ll likely have to wait a while to find out exactly what that means — other than a probable reset of Circuit Experience and Licence leaderboards and possible changes to the time targets.
The update itself is planned to arrive on Thursday July 25, so there’s plenty of time to save up for the new fleet of vehicles.
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