The 17 best cars on Gran Turismo 7 | FOS Future Lab

1. Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

The Murcielago isn’t to our knowledge the most competitive car to race in on the game. But we’ll go ahead and lay down the claim that it might be one of the best recreations of any car sound on any game ever. The music of the Bizzarrini V12 in its twilight years is known by all supercar fans and it’s alive and well in digital form. Who needs the real thing? We’re serious…

2. Porsche 911 GT3 997

The sound guys put in an extra shift recording the 997 GT3 too. The howl of that flat-six is a tonic in real life and it is on the game too. The car responds well to modifications, with the noise evolving depending on what parts you use. Because it’s a GT3, it’s actually a really competitive car too. This thing will serve you well with a good setup on it.

3. SRT Tomahawk Vision GT

Of course, those are two cars that will cost you a pretty penny in the used car dealer. Happily, this absolute monster was there in GT7’s early days to help with making a quick buck or two. Tune it down in the game’s advanced calibration menus and you could get the Tomahawk to within spec for a very lucrative race, where it would eviscerate the competition, lapping them time after time and getting a sturdy six-figure sum at the end. It’s been patched now, but for the madness of this 300+mph machine, we are thankful. It looks awesome too.

4. Honda S660

Quite the opposite is the case for the S660, with its 660cc engine. But what a cool little thing it is and so typical for a Gran Turismo game. It’s exactly the kind of Japanese oddity we love to see in GT titles. But wait, there’s more. Mod the S660 correctly, and you can hilariously make it shoot some truly spectacular flames. We want to see a full grid of these modded just so, racing online, setting each other alight. 

5. JGTC Pennzoil Skyline GT-R GT500

Okay now we’re getting serious. This is a must for Gran Turismo, the title which arguably brought more fame to racing Skylines than their real world on-track exploits. This car earns a spot here firstly because it’s epic, but most of all, because it’s a genuinely brilliant racing car to use throughout the game’s career and in money-making grinds such as Le Mans. Its handling is so stable, its parameters so perfectly adjustable. It’ll prove a formidable ally.

6. E46 BMW M3

Back to gratuitous noise. The M3’s S54 3.2-litre straight-six engine is the stuff of attainable legend in the real world, that is a sure-fire future classic. And we’re here to reveal you can get nine-tenths of a genuine taste of it on Gran Turismo 7. It drives beautifully, too, and takes very well to mods. Fancy a ‘realistic’ track day with some mates online? There isn’t much else we can think of that offers as much theatre and fun as the best M3 of them all.

7. Toyota GR Supra GT4

Like the Skyline, the GT4-spec Toyota GR Supra (Mk5) proved to us to be a highly usable and tractable racing car for the career. Cheeky tip, there’s no stopping you dropping the specs of cars down for road car races. So while some rivals might pip you on power (dropping power will help get your PP within the required parameters), your aero and tyres give a massive advantage.

8. Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Passo Corto

We arrive at quite a 'Goodwood' machine, the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Passo Corto. We don’t need to tell you that this car offers some great sounds, but a light dusting of mods and spec tickling will also deliver you a fantastically fun historic racing machine for some fast laps around our Motor Circuit. Truthfully, there are a number of classics worth giving the Goodwood treatment to – Jaguar D-Type, E-type, Shelby Cobra, Porsche Spider. We loved the 250 GT the most, mind.

9. Amuse GT1

On the other end of the spectrum and perfectly illustrative of the beauty of GT and its variety, we have the Amuse GT1. A highly-tuned S2000 made famous by its appearances on Gran Turismo titles, as well as its appearances on Best Motoring and Hot Version. Truthfully, we’ve not spent much time competing in this. We’ve spent most of our time parking it in dingy Japanese back streets on scapes, for the ultimate JDM mood.

10. Chaparral 2J

This is as much a classic Gran Turismo car is it is just, well, a classic. Chaparal’s radical fan car blew the minds of onlookers in the 1960s. Since its debut some 20 years ago on GT games and indeed, in its appearances at our own Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, it’s been doing the same all over again. We say blew, the fans actually suck it to the ground. 

11. Alpine A220

Another feather in GT7’s cap for sheer variety, is this stunning Alpine A220, a V8-powered sports prototype racer that was as at home at Le Mans as it was on the Targa Florio. Tell us, what other new game can you get this car on right now? Given what prices the Legend Dealer spits out, it’s relatively cheap when it does come up, and it’s as nice to drive as it is beautiful, too.

12. Mercedes CLK LM

The lesser-known sequel to the Mercedes CLK GTR was a response to things, shall we say, hotting up in the GT1 class. It’s the GTR that often gets airtime on games but this is Gran Turismo, as much a celebration of the lesser-knowns and the underdogs. One of the most beautiful cars of the early GT1 era, we’d wager.

13. McLaren MP4/4

A couple of more recent additions to the car list have proven that Polyphony know how to do DLC. New for your (in-game) purchase and enjoyment, the McLaren MP4/4. Casually, one of the greatest F1 cars of all time, which delivered Ayrton Senna his first world championship.

14. Volkswagen ID-R

…and another world class racing car, though rather different to the legendary old Macca. The Volkswagen ID-R, which has set records all over the world (including at one point, on our Goodwood Hill), is an all-electric monster. From the Nürburgring to the Duke of Richmond’s driveway, it’s probably our favourite EV yet made. Then again, it was going to be, wasn’t it.

So those are our favourite cars currently on GT7. With the promise of many more where the McLaren and the VW came from and, after a mixed year, we can’t wait to see how the game develops. It’s in far finer shape than it was on release and the only way is up.

Images courtesy of Sony.

15. Aston Martin Valkyrie

Probably one of the most interesting hypercars to emerge over the past 20 years, this V12-engined, 11,000rpm-revving downforce monster is all but a Le Mans Hypercar for the road, hewn in the rarified mind of F1 design extraordinaire Adrian Newey. So its addition to Gran Turismo 7 was hotly-anticipated and greatly appreciated when it was announced.

Yes, it looks amazing and the designers have nailed the sound, but there’s another side to the joy of the Valkyrie on GT7. It sort of… breaks the game, It’s a road car that has more performance than arguably most of the racing cars you can pick up the keys to, in corners as well as in a straight line. Add a set of slicks and it’s an absolute weapon to race with, though some manipulation of the performance points is needed to make it eligible in most cases. Thank Kaz for ballast, aye?

16. Toyota GT One

The Gran Turismo faithful will remember this one fondly, as will lovers of endurance racing and the GT1 era. Toyota’s take on road-based prototype racers was basically to build a prototype and get the authorities to believe it’s road legal by claiming the fuel tank is the boot. Astonishing work Toyota. It didn’t pay dividends, sadly, the GT One (or TS020, to give it its official name) became another in a lineage of Toyota endurance racers to come oh-so-close to Le Mans glory. 

Still, it’s no less of a legend, especially to vintage GT players who have missed it since its omission from GT Sport and GT7 on release. The legend has returned and it’ll cost you a cool 2.5million credits and that’s only when it appears in the Legend dealer.

17. Lexus LFA

This thing earns its place here simply by virtue of how much all who adore it crave the experience of driving it by any means they can. Most can’t buy one, so we have to resort to games. Thankfully, its representation in Gran Turismo 7 is faithful to the real thing in terms of that screaming V10 engine.

The LFA is also a car close to the hearts and minds of the bods behind the game, given it’s a home-grown icon and the brainchild of a legend of the industry, Akio Toyoda. Its like had not been seen before and will never be seen again. We’re grateful to be able to enjoy even a fraction of the experience in GT’s digital realm.