Gran Turismo 7’s new Online Time Trial returns to Barcelona in the Elantra N TC ’24

Gran Turismo 7’s latest Online Time Trial went live on October 22, sending players back to the Hyundai Elantra N TC ’24 for a lap of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s Grand Prix layout, run without the chicane on Racing Hard tires. GTPlanet says it is the only new event available this week, and it lands after a run of Gr.4-heavy content that has already sparked complaints from some players.

The choice is hard to miss because the Elantra has been the car to beat in Gr.4 for months. GTPlanet says the model has dominated since the physics overhaul and BoP changes in Update 1.71 arrived in August, to the point that Gr.4 Daily Races have felt like Elantra one-makes. Last week’s 1.72 update finally revised the BoP, but the very next Time Trial puts the same machine back in the spotlight.

The Elantra comes straight back after the BoP update

GTPlanet describes the Hyundai Elantra N TC ’24 as a car that “needs no introduction,” and the phrase lands as a criticism rather than a compliment. The outlet says the car has been the Gr.4 benchmark since August, which has made the class feel repetitive in Daily Races. This Time Trial keeps the same formula going, with fixed settings and BOP (Mid-Speed) applied to the event.

That repeat appearance also follows directly on from last week’s Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo challenge. That event used the new SUGO International Racing Course on Sports Soft tires, and GTPlanet says it was already attracting grumbles of its own. The result is a pair of underwhelming combinations in a row, with little to separate the new Barcelona challenge from the recent one at SUGO beyond the car and track names.

Barcelona’s no-chicane layout is back again

The track will feel familiar too. GTPlanet says the Grand Prix layout at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, without the chicane, is a venue most players know by heart. It is not a new face in the rotation either, since the same layout hosted the Yangwang U9 event as recently as April.

That familiarity gives the challenge an easy entry point even if it does not offer much novelty. A Gr.4 car on Racing Hards around a circuit many GT7 players already know should make the event straightforward to understand, and the fixed setup means there is no tuning to chase before setting a lap.

Estimated targets for gold, silver and bronze

GTPlanet put forward early target times for the event, suggesting that the benchmarks should look roughly like this:

• Gold: under 1:53
• Silver: under 1:55
• Bronze: under 2:01

Those are not official thresholds, but they give a useful starting point for anyone looking to secure the top reward before the event closes. As with other Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trials, rewards are tied to how close a lap gets to the fastest time rather than to a head-to-head finish order.

The current challenge also sits alongside the previous Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo event, which still has one week left. GTPlanet says that race closes on Thursday, October 29, so players can still return to SUGO before the Barcelona Time Trial becomes the main focus.

Online Time Trials live in Sport Mode, which GT7 unlocks after completing Menu Book 9, “Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade,” in the GT Cafe. No PlayStation Plus subscription is required. GTPlanet says a new event arrives every Thursday, each one runs for two weeks, and the oldest drops off as the newest lands. The next new Online Time Trial is due on October 29.

Rewards are based on proximity to the top time: gold pays 2,000,000cr for laps within 3%, silver pays 1,000,000cr for laps within 5%, and bronze pays 250,000cr for laps within 10%.