There’s a new Gran Turismo 7 preview video available on the official GT channels today, and it appears to confirm that a racing-grade Tesla Model 3 will be coming to the game in a post-launch update.
The video, “Virtual to Reality”, is something of a crossing of streams between the Gran Turismo game and some of the external activities it sponsors. It features racing game YouTuber Steve “SuperGT” Brown, and racing driver Daijiro “Dai” Yoshihara as they both drive Tesla cars around the Willow Springs Big Willow circuit.
Brown, of course, is sampling the virtual race track in Gran Turismo 7. He delivers a track guide while taking on the circuit in the in-game Tesla Model S Performance — one of only two Tesla models to ever appear in Gran Turismo, and the same car that’s been in the series since Gran Turismo 6.
Yoshihara meanwhile is giving his own track guide of the real track, before heading out in his highly modified time attack Model 3, and that’s where things get interesting. The Model 3 is not in Gran Turismo at all, but it looks like it’s planned for a future update:
It’s not immediately clear precisely which version of Tesla Model 3 will “be provided in a future update” for GT7, but Yoshihara’s time attack car is the most likely.
This car bears Gran Turismo logos, as the brand sponsored Yoshihara’s attempt at Pikes Peak — a race that GT also sponsors — in 2021. Unfortunately the team didn’t do well on race day as, having qualified second in class, the Model 3 unexpectedly switched into limp mode; Yoshihara drove the run anyway, recording a time of 11:41 on the considerably shortened course.
It wouldn’t be the first Yoshihara car to make it into the series either. GT Sport players will be familiar with his Subaru BRZ Turn 14 Distribution Formula Drift car, which has also appeared in GT7 promotional material tackling a drift run at Tsukuba. In 2013, Yoshihara himself was on hand during a demonstration of GT6’s Data Visualizer, and took us out for a lap of Willow Springs.
For now we don’t know when a Tesla Model 3 will make it into the game, but we’ll be keeping a close eye out for more. In the meantime, you can watch the virtual Tesla vs. real Tesla face-off with this onboard video:
Featured image via Dai Yoshihara/Facebook.
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