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%.
Sources
- GTPlanet: Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial: N-escapable
Tags: BoP, Daily Races, Sport Mode, Time Trial
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Is the no-chicane layout really faster for everyone, or do some of you still prefer the chicane version? Me and a mate are arguing over which one is better for hotlapping.
From my runs, the no-chicane version usually feels more honest. Less stop-start nonsense, so the car is settled and you can work on the long corners instead of just surviving the brake zone. With the Elantra on Racing Hards, the lap is more about keeping momentum than sending it into the chicane and hoping the rear stays calm. If you want consistency, I would take this layout.
That makes sense. I was trying to force the chicane entry and kept losing the rear – maybe I should just slow down earlier and focus on the exit like you said.
Brake earlier. Cleaner exit matters more here.
Elantra again, lol
Still quicker than the field
Sure, but that’s the problem
Same car, different track
Fair, but if the whole point of a Time Trial is variety, putting the same Gr.4 bully back in right after a BoP tweak is a bit on the nose. Maybe it’ll be boring for a week and then the usual leaderboard weirdness takes over anyway. GT7 loves a repeat menu more than my local diner.
Elantra simulator back on duty
Had that thing in Daily Races and it was basically a tax on my patience. Every lobby turned into the same battle out of the slow corners, then one guy bins it and half the field goes with him. If this Time Trial is anything like that, I’m just taking the gold reward and getting out.
To be fair, Barcelona without the chicane is one of the better layouts for a fixed setup run. You don’t spend half the lap fighting the car over bumps and kerbs like at some tracks, so at least the lap should be readable. The issue is just the car choice, not the circuit.
yeah i get that, the track is fine. it just feels like they keep feeding us the same Gr.4 dish with a different sauce. I’ll still run it for the credits though, no point pretending i won’t.
Gold under 1:53 is a pretty clear target, honestly. Nice to see an estimate instead of guessing blindly on lap 1.
Clear, maybe. Accurate is another matter
not really, but it’s close enough to start with
Yeah, that’s fair. I just like having something to aim at before the game gives the official cutoff, even if the final gold ends up a tenth or two different.
2,000,000cr for not crashing into Barcelona’s brakes is hilarious
It’s basically a sim racing settlement for surviving the lap
two million for gold is crazy good for one lap trial. i remember when time trials felt like a pure leaderboard thing and not a little credit farm on the side. Now i’m half tempted to grind it just because the payout is better than some actual race payouts in other games. Still, doing it in the Elantra again feels like PD saw the complaints and said ‘here, have more of it’.
You say credit farm, but the gold % is not free. 3% sounds generous until you realize one mistake in the middle sector kills the whole run, and then you are resetting for ages. The payout is good, yes, but it’s still a proper lap time chase. If it was easy money, everyone would have the 2M already.
free money if you are quick