The day has finally arrived as Gran Turismo 7 gets its biggest update yet. Update 1.40 is labelled as "Spec II", and brings some sweeping changes to GT7 along with plenty of new content for players to dive into.
After months of relying solely on Daily Races to provide a reason to return, Polyphony has delivered a huge batch of new activities to the game nearly two years after launch.
So what can players enjoy from this update? And what else is changing under the hood? Let's dive into it!
Spec II new content
The big headlines for this update are seven new cars, one new track, 50 new Licenses, and the brand-new "Weekly Challenges".
The cars include two Dodges, the iconic Mercedes-Benze 190, the NISMO 400R, the Lexus LFA, the Porsche 911 GTt RS (992), and the Tesla Model 3 Performance. This is a terrific range of cars and should have something for everyone.
The track is a completely new fictional location: Lake Louise. Based in Canada, this location brings snow racing back to Gran Turismo. This is promising, but given the issues with off-road racing in GT7 we aren't holding our breath on the quality of it.
Elsewhere the 50 new Licenses should give players a good test, while Weekly Challenges will add something to do beyond grinding the best credit races and Sport Mode.
There are also two new Cafe Menu Books to complete and plenty of new World Circuit events. This includes four Clubman Plus races which are easily the best single-player events in the game.
Update 1.40 patch notes
There is also a lot going on under the hood of GT7. From opening cinematic changes to Meeting Place updates and new engine swaps. The full Update 1.40 patch notes are below!
Opening Movie
The opening cinematic movie that plays when starting up the game has been updated. After the update, the "Play Opening Movie" option will be set to On when the game restarts.
Cars
The following seven new cars have been added:
- Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi '68 (available for purchase at the Legend Cars dealership)
- Dodge Challenger SRT Demon '18
- Lexus LFA '10
- Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II '91 (available for purchase Legend Cars dealership)
- NISMO 400R '95 (available for purchase Legend Cars dealership)
- Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) '22
- Tesla Model 3 Performance '23
Tracks
The Lake Louise race track has been added, with six different layouts:
- Lake Louise Long Track
- Lake Louise Long Track Reverse
- Lake Louise Short Track
- Lake Louise Short Track Reverse
- Lake Louise Tri-Oval
- Lake Louise Tri-Oval Reverse
The new track will be unlocked at Collector Level 22.
World Circuits
"Meeting Place" has become the "Paddock." This mode can be accessed from World Circuits or Multiplayer Pavilions and enables players to communicate with each another through text chat and emoticons.
"Arcade Race" has been replaced with "Quick Race." Also, in addition to the existing AI mode, players can select to race a prototype version of the AI racing agent "Gran Turismo Sophy" (available only on the PS5 console on specific tracks and with specific cars).
The prizes for Quick Race and Custom Race have been increased. Credits awarded for these races increase based on the player's Collector Level and Circuit Experience progress.
The mode "Weekly Challenges" has been added, where players can face events that change every week. This mode becomes available after clearing Menu Book No. 39 (Championship: World GT Series) and having watched the ending.
An "Event Directory'" button has been added to make it easy to find all the race events available.
A "Change Car" button has been added.
"Circuit Experience" has been added to the Lake Louise track in the Americas section.
The following new events have been added to World Circuits:
World Touring Car 900
- Trial Mountain Circuit
- Nürburgring
- Suzuka Circuit
- Autopolis
X2019 Nations Cup
- Interlagos Circuit
- Trial Mountain Circuit
- Dragon Trail
- Lago Maggiore Circuit
- Sardegna - Road Track
World Rally Challenge Gr.B
- Lake Louise
Japanese 4WD Challenge 600
- Lake Louise
Pickup Truck Race
- Lake Louise
Clubman Cup+
- Special Stage RouteX
- Watkins Glen International
- Monza Circuit
- Fuji Speedway
GT Cup Gr.3
- Daytona International Speedway
- Deepforest Raceway
- Red Rull Ring
- Mount Panorama
License Center
"Master Licenses" mode has been added to License. It is unlocked after completing the Normal License.
Brand Central
New Museum section for Abarth has been added for Europe (Italy).
Café
The following Menu Books have been added:
- Menu Book No.48: World Touring Car 900 (Collector Level 39 and above).
- Menu Book No.49: Nations Cup (Collector Level 50 and above).
The following Extra Menus have been added:
- Extra Menu No.31: Collection: Road-Going Racers (Collector Level 30 and above).
- Extra Menu No.32: Collection: Lexus (Collector Level 34 and above).
- Extra Menu No.33: Collection: Red Bull X Series (Collector Level 50 and above).
We added new sets of conversations with the Car Designers and Characters appearing in the Café. These new conversations can be accessed by changing to the following cars in Garage and speaking with the characters in the Café:
CAR DESIGNERS
Ed Welburn
- Dodge Challenger SRT Demon '18
- Ferrari FXX K '14
Fabio Filippini
- DS DS3 Racing
- Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
- Ferrari F430
Freeman Thomas
- Volkswagen 1200
- Volkswagen Samba Bus
Hideo Kodama
- Jaguar XJ13 '66
Shiro Nakamura
- Lamborghini Vulcan LP610-4
- NISMO 400R
GT Auto
Car Maintenance & Service
Engine Swaps have been added for the following cars (unlocked at Collector Level 50):
- Chevrolet Corvette C7 Gr.3 Road Car
- Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (C6) '09
- Dodge Viper GTS '13
- Ford Mustang Gr.3 Road Car
- Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 '15
- Lexus RC F '14
- Mazda Atenza Gr.3 Road Car
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition Gr.B Road Car
- Nissan GT-R Nismo '17
- Subaru WRX Gr.B Road Car
Car Customization
The following brands have been added to the pre-set decals in the Livery Editor:
- Spoon
Tuning Shop
"Snow Tires" option has been added to the Tuning Shop.
Scapes
The Player's Favorites collection has been added as a featured Curation in Scapes.
Polyphony Digital Tokyo Office has been added as a new Spot under "Japan > Tokyo."
Race Photos
We changed the height limit of Walk Mode for certain tracks allowing you to take photos from a higher position.
New Shutter Speed values have been added, making it possible to select a speed between 1s and 1/30s.
A "Rendering Quality" option has been added to the Detailed Settings section of the Camera tab: Standard, Fine and Extra Fine can now be selected to increase the number of subframes when rendering, enhancing the quality of photos with movement.
Replay
A "Replay Loop" option has been added in the Replay Options (only available for regular replays).
GT Menu
A new dashboard, which shows completion rates for each of the various World Map pavilions, has been added.
Multiplayer
We added "Paddock" and "Split Screen Race," where up to 4 players, each with their own controller, can now race together (PS5 version only).
Sport
Indicators have been added to the Driver List in the post-race screen to show the variations in the Driver Rating (DR) and Sportsmanship Rating (SR).
Cars
We fixed an issue with the Garage RCR Civic, in which the anti-roll bar setting could not be changed after a fully customized suspension had been fitted.
We also increased the viewable range of the interior of the Toyota Ambulance Himedic '21 in the VR Showroom.
Localisation
We addressed various text localisation issues.
Others
Various other issues have been addressed.