As part of today’s PlayStation State of Play, Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has announced a massive new update for Gran Turismo 7, going by the expected name “Spec III”, and coming in December 2025.
At present only a handful of details are available for Spec III, but we like what we’re seeing so far from the 35-second trailer above — particularly as it starts with new circuits. And yes, that’s circuits plural, with two real-world racing tracks coming to the game later this year.
Both circuits are proper racing facilities that host Formula 1 races, with one recent circuit from the pen of Hermann Tilke, and a much older course that’s been staging F1 since the late-1970s.
They are, of course, the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Canada. Interestingly enough, both circuits have been rumored for quite some time, and for differing reasons, so they should generate some community reaction.
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve will become the second Canadian circuit in the game, after the fictional Lake Louise snow circuit, while Yas Marina will be the first ever course in the series in the Middle East — and both will require some rejigging of the maps in World Circuits!
There’s just the one layout at the Canadian course, but it remains to be seen what variants at Yas Marina will be available. Purportedly the most expensive track in F1 history, there’s five different routes in the real world.
The notes for Spec III also mention new Circuit Experience events, which is pretty likely to be these two circuits and any different layouts they may bring.
Eight new cars are also promised, making it the biggest single car drop in the game’s history — taking over from Spec II’s seven-car addition — although only four have been shown just yet. As we know what people have been clamoring for, we’ll simply start off with “Ferrari 296 GT3”.
It looks to be the original version of the car, rather than the Evo model introduced this year, but nonetheless it’s a car that’s been topping a lot of wishlists over the past three years. Alongside that there’s an interesting looking PD-special generic F1 car that appears to borrow from the a mix of early 1990s Benetton cars, so given that we already have the F3500-A (named for the engine capacity) we’re going to need to wait to find out how this is classified.
Two classic Japanese cars from the series’ past are also coming, in the shape of the Mitsubishi FTO GP Version R and the tuner-special Mine’s Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1.
Two pretty big changes are coming to the game structure too, as we see a lift in that long-standing Collector Level cap. Many player will have hit level 50 long ago, as it requires one to own just 10% of the value of the entire car list at 54,450,000 credits, and this is now being raised.
We don’t know quite how far it’s being elevated, but with the way it’s calculated from CL17 onwards we’d say it’d need to be at least another 17 levels to reach a garage value of over 100,000,000 credits.
Interestingly, the second change seems allied to the first, and it eliminates one of the big remaining bugbears with the solo aspect of the game. The images show a player appearing to be rewarded with a permanent Porsche Invitation for reaching CL51, and permanent Invitations are a stated part of the update. No more hoping to get one at random and watching it expire before you can get the credits!
One of our favorite features introduced in Spec II is Weekly Challenges, and they’re set to get enhancements in Spec III too.
Currently this mode gives you five races to tackle each week, with four from World Circuits and a fifth, Special Event, created just for the week. That looks set to change with more event types being added, such as Time Trial and Mission Challenge events.
Interestingly the Time Trial shown in the image looks to be a Circuit Experience-type event, only covering a short section of Brands Hatch but not in the same car as the existing challenge, while there’s also a new Mission Challenge in the list. That could hint at more Missions coming too — after quite some time!
Another listed point is a new “Menu Book” called “Seasonal Menu”. We’re scratching our collective heads as to what that one could represent; perhaps a dynamic event allied to a new Seasonal race mode? We’ll have to wait and see there.
One for hot lap fans is the return of the Data Logger, bringing a lap time comparison feature back from the days of Gran Turismo 6.
While it remains to be seen precisely how it’ll work, the initial teaser image shows traces for speed, throttle and brake position, and engine speed for two cars overlaid, along with a lap time gap between them. There’s also a G circle trace and what appears to be a variety of display modes.
Alongside that we’ll see the introduction of the new Dunlop tires, developed using data from the new partnership with the Sumitomo-owned tire brand. This will likely mean a new physics model to adapt to the new tires model too.
Dropped in at the end of the change list is “improvements to online races”. There’s too many possibilities for this one to even speculate upon, so we’ll reserve thoughts until more information is shared. Finally there’ll also be more new Scapes and a brand-new opening movie.
No date has been confirmed for the Spec III update other than December, but it’s likely to be on or around the Gran Turismo World Final in Fukuoka on December 20-21. If PD sticks to usual scheduling, that could mean a Christmas Day arrival…
See more articles on Gran Turismo 7 Game Update and Gran Turismo 7 Spec III.

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