Whilst we all love fast cars, and the thrill that comes with real speed, it is not always easy for a petrol head to get the experience.
Only a select few will ever feel the thrill of throwing an Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 around a track or powering around the tight corners of Monaco at wholly unachievable speeds. Instead, we rely on watching, commenting and maybe, just maybe tuning our own vehicles to get somewhere close.
That is where video games come in. Over the years, racing games have become increasingly advanced, developing into driving simulations that leave you as close to being in a car as you can be. Gran Turismo is one of the leaders in the field, and the latest title, Gran Turismo 7, has been announced for the next generation of consoles. It might be the latest in a long line of excellent racing adaptions, but it has had many, many predecessors.
Not only is racing a popular game genre, but the love of speed has seen the themes used across other types of game, too. Gaming giant Foxy Games hosts several titles dedicated to the racing genre, including 24 Hour Grand Prix and Neon Rush Splitz, following in a long tradition of racing games, which can be traced back to titles such as Outrun on the earliest arcade machines, or classics like Microprose Grand Prix and Forza. Still, it is always the latest which promises to be the best, and Gran Turismo has always delivered. Whether depicting real-life circuits, or exciting concept cars, it is the standard-bearer for other games to follow.
Grand Turismo Sport dropped in 2017, but an update this year brought three exciting new cars for players to enjoy, the first of which is the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 2010. The DB series first won a road race at Le Mans in 1959, with the DBR9 GT1 triumphing on its racing debut at Sebring in the 2005 24-hour event. It packs a 5.9-liter V12 engine which has undergone engine ECU tuning, lifting the power to 599 BHP. Despite being labelled as 2010, the car depicted in the game is based on the one driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Andrea Piccini, and Karl Wendlinger at Le Mans in 2008, where it achieved 16th place.
Slightly less of a supercar, the second new arrival on the Gran Turismo Sport scene is the Fiat 500 1.2 8V Lounge SS 2008. It has appeared in two previous titles, Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6, but dropped on the latest, 4K ready title in February much to the delight of gamers. This is not an aspirational car; it is within reach of most consumers out there, but perhaps not on the wide range of tracks featured in the game.
Finally, the popular Nissan 180SX Type X 1996 is back, having featured in every Gran Turismo game to date. At 197 BHP, gamers might not have had quite as much fun testing it on the track, but it is an old favorite which was welcomed back into the franchise with open arms, having been a core component of Gran Turismo 1, released in 1997. Despite featuring in every game so far, the car did not receive an updated model, or the addition of an interior perspective, until the recent update.
