Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.40 Spec II Revealed: Everything you need to know

The rumours were right: Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 will be the biggest update yet. Polyphony Digital has revealed all the details about Gran Turismo 7 Spec II.

Gran Turismo 7’s monthly updates have been disappointing this year, to say the least. Most contain a handful of new cars, Scape photo locations, a few World Circuit races if you’re lucky, and not much else. With stiff competition from Forza Motorsport, Polyphony needs to step up a gear to stay ahead of the race.

Thankfully, GT7 player’s patience will be rewarded soon because Gran Turismo 7's biggest update yet is coming this week. Here's everything you need to know about Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40.

Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 Spec II revealed

Dubbed Spec II, update 1.40 is the biggest update in Gran Turismo 7's history. Launching this week, update 1.40 brings seven new cars, a new track location, Sophy AI 2.0, new game modes, and much more.

Seven new cars

Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 will bring seven new cars:

• Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi '68
• Dodge Challenger SRT Demon '18
• Lexus LFA '10
• Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II '91
• NISMO 400R '95
• Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) '22
• Tesla Model 3 Performance '23

It's an eclectic mix of American muscle cars, track-focused sports cars and legendary Japanese tuners. Last seen in Gran Turismo 6 in 2013, the V10-powered Lexus LFA is one of the most requested cars in GT7. The GT3 RS 992 will also make its video game debut in GT7.

New Lake Louise track

GT7's Spec II update will not only bring new cars but also a new track to race them on. This is the first time Polyphony has added a new circuit to GT7 since Grand Valley returned back in February.

Update 1.40 will bring a new original circuit called Lake Louise. Set around the World Heritage Canadian Rockies around a ski resort, GT7's first-ever snow circuit includes three layouts:

• Lake Louise Long Track
• Lake Louise Short Track
• Lake Louise Tri-Oval

Featuring 11 corners, the Long Track layout will challenge players with a variety of low and high speed corners. The Short Track features a twisty layout, while the Tri Oval only has thre corners allowing drivers to enjoy flat-out snow racing.

Sophy 2.0

Alongside the new cars and track, update 1.40 will let you take on Gran Turismo Sophy 2.0. Developed in collaboration with Polyphony Digital and Sony AI, Sophy is a revolutionary AI learning agent that can beat the best Gran Turismo players in the world.

Sophy will potentially revolutionise artificial intelligence in racing games. Thanks to reinforcement learning, Sophy AI will make GT7's robotic AI opponents behave more like human drivers.

Spec II will allow players to race against Sophy AI in the new Quick Race mode replacing Arcade Race but only on PS5. Not all cars and courses are available in this mode, however.

World Circuits Weekly Challenges

GT7's World Circuits single-player mode is getting a big update in Spec II with the addition of Weekly Challenges. A new set of races will be added every week with a mix of current World Circuit events and all-new events. Completing them all will award a prize.

In a welcome quality of life improvement, a new Event Directory on the top-right of the screen will allow players to quickly find events to enter.

In addition, five new regular events and two new expert events will be added:

Regular Race events

• World Touring Cars 900: Trial Mountain / Nurburgring / Suzuka Circuit / Autopolis
• X2019 Nations Cup: Interlagos Circuit / Sardegna Road Track / Dragon Trail / Trial Mountain Circuit / Lake Maggiore Circuit
• World Rally Challenge Gr. B: Lake Louise
• Japanese 4WD Challenge 600
• Pick-Up Truck Race: Lake Louise

Expert Race Events

• Clubman Cup+: Watkins Glen International / Special Stage Route X / Fuji Speedway / Monza Circuit
• GT Cup Gr. 3: Mount Panorama / Daytona International Speedway / Deep Forest Raceway / Red Bull Ring

Master License

By now, most GT7 players will have likely completed every license test. Spec II adds a new Master License to the License Centre. Across 50 challenges, players will master the art of sports driving. These tests will be available after completing the normal license, giving returning players a new challenge.

Multiplayer Paddock

Spec II also brings big changes to multiplayer. A new Paddock area will replace the Meeting Places. Here, players can chat and admire each other's cars in a virtual car park while waiting for online races to start.

Four-player split screen

In another surprise addition, update 1.40 will add four-player split-screen multiplayer. At launch, GT7 only supported two-player split-screen. It's a big blow to Forza Motorsport, which doesn't have split-screen at the time of writing.

New Photo Mode improvements

Virtual photographers can use slower shutter speeds between one and 1/30 seconds in Race Photo mode during replays. Using a slower shutter will dark scenes brighter, for example.

Scapes is also getting a new "Player's Favourites" section showing the 30 most popular shots and a Polyphony Digital Tokyo Studio spot.

New dashboard

Your progress in GT7 will be easier to track thanks to a new Dashboard feature. Accessible from the GT Menu in the top-left of the screen, players can view how many cars are in their garage, their Collector Level, and World Circuits completion rate.

New GT Cafe Menu Books

No GT7 update is complete without some new Cafe Menu Books. Spec II adds three extra GT Cafe Menu books:

• Extra Menu No. 31: ‘Road-Going Racers’ (Collector Level 30 and above)
• Extra Menu No. 32: ‘Lexus’ (Collector Level 34 and above)
• Extra Menu No. 33: ‘Red Bull X Series’ (Collector Level 49 and above)

Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 release date

Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 launches on Thursday 2 November as a free update.

After months of underwhelming updates, this could be the jumpstart GT7 desperately needs to compete with Forza Motorsport.

Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 patch notes

You can find out more in the Gran Turismo 7 update 1.40 patch notes here.

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