In its latest update, Gran Turismo 7 added three very distinct enthusiast cars. The 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce, 1971 Ford Maverick restomod by Greening Auto Company, and 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo are the latest vehicles to show up in the racing simulator, giving fans of every era something to lust after.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce is one of the automaker’s most famous, desirable sports cars. From its distinctive step-nose front end to its scrappy 1.6-liter inline-four, the Giulia Sprint GT Veloce became an instant classic. Its delicate, graceful styling hides a 105-horsepower engine, which may not sound like much until you remember the car weighs about 2,100 pounds, and that light weight pays dividends both in straight-line enjoyment and handling verve. Although today’s Giulia might be completely unrelated, it still maintains its predecessor’s zest for driving.
The Ford Maverick may be better known these days as a hot-selling small pickup, but 50 years ago, it was the Blue Oval’s entry in the compact car class. Unlike its ill-famed contemporary Pinto sibling, the Maverick actually had some performance thanks to an available 4.9-liter V8 making a healthy 210 hp.
But that version can’t hold a candle to the Greening Auto Company 1971 Maverick and its outrageous, twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter Ford V8 producing 1,200 hp. The Maverick was digitized from real life and put in the game as part of the prize for being named “Best In Show” at the 2018 SEMA GT Awards, but not before it crested 202.6 mph in 2019.
Built to homologate a Group A racer, the 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo features a number of subtle, but important, alterations to the R32 GT-R’s formula. For starters, there are additional air inlets in the front bumper and a pair of fins in the grille to help cool the engine. The rear windshield wiper was removed to save weight, as was ABS since it wasn’t legal in Group A racing. The engine, suspension, and braking system are largely the same as the non-Nismo GT-R, but the car is about 80 pounds lighter, so it promises a more aggressive driving experience.
In addition to the new cars, the GT7 update also includes a newfound ability to perform engine swaps at GT Auto. You won’t be able to simply LS-swap all the things, as the function is limited to predetermined vehicle/engine combinations, but the new feature brings Gran Turismo ever closer to replicating real-world racing.
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