Thursday 3rd November 2016

The Gran Turismo appreciation society: PH Blog

Matt reckons Gran Turismo transformed his car appreciation - what about you?

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You may have noticed a slight Japanese theme to PH a couple of weeks back, where an imported Civic Type R was featured as both PH Hero and POTW plus a very expensive Skyline received widespread praise. Mainly from us.

Speed 12!

Which got me thinking - what is it that makes cars like that so special to people like us? While a few factors will have contributed, one stood out amongst the rest: Gran Turismo. It's only now that I've not played it in years, that I'm in a job talking about cars all day and that I really want to buy a car that the significance and influence of the game is being realised.

Back in 2000 I received a PlayStation 2 and Gran Turismo 2 for Christmas. Best Christmas ever. But GT3 came out in 2001, and that's arguably where the fascination properly began. Now when I get all frothy about special Skylines, silly Subarus and high-revving Hondas, it's because Gran Turismo introduced me to them and they all felt so exciting on a little TV.

While the modifying will seem horribly rudimentary now, for awareness of what worked and what didn't in making a car go fast it was brilliant. Gran Turismo showed the importance of weight, tyres and suspension; when you're 12 and believe that all the power is everything, that's a valuable lesson.

Then Gran Turismo 4 arrived, and so departed any hope of getting a girlfriend as a teenager. It featured the Nurburgring for crying out loud! In all seriousness though, the hours dedicated to Nordschleife laps (some of them even all on the tarmac) were invaluable when I finally came to drive it. To be able to make the most of limited time on a circuit thanks to a video game, I think, is very cool.

Of course there are other simulators. Certainly if experience of GT6 is anything to go by, there will be far better ones by now too. But it was the original for me, if you will excuse the clumsy ripping off of the slogan.

The best one?

Gran Turismo is the reason I want a RUF, a Spoon modified Honda, an M3 GTR and a Lotus Esprit, amongst many more. It was the reason I didn't want a Ford Ka as a first car, because the engine seemed so ropey. And Gran Turismo 5 is to blame for my worst university assignment grade, convinced as I was that it was good enough and I could definitely buy the game now...

So thanks Gran Turismo, I appreciate it. Thanks for showing me cars, tracks and modifications I'd never heard of and which I now adore. Whether I'll be so thankful when I finally get a JDM Integra Type R remains to be seen though!

Which is all a rather circuitous way to invite you to share your Gran Turismo memories; I can't be alone! What has it made you buy? What were your favourite tracks? Which Gran Turismo was the best? I look forward to reading them.

Matt

 

[NJ72]

Couldn't. Agree. More.

GT began my fascination with cars, as I hope it does for future generations - Here's to GT Sport in 2017!

[eybic]

I remember playing the first GT on my PS1 and spending hours bettering the licence times with my mate, we'd get better by such small margins each time, the ghosts looked pretty much level.

[Dannbodge]

I used to love GT.
Had them all and bought a PS3 for GT5. Shame that when it came out (eventually) it was a terrible game.

I loved GT2, starting with a 2nd hand 89 Supra, obviously after mastering all the licenses.

Spent a lot of time on GT3 in the F1 car and a red 1er BMW with wire wheels and white wall tyres.

GT4 was an incredible game, probably the best racing game ever.

I live for Forza now though.

[jtopps]

Gran Turismo: All hail the birth of an icon (still a brilliant game to play now).
Gran Turismo 2: Like Gran Turismo but MORE, I had a special edition with discs that smelt like burnt rubber and fuel if you rubbed them. Astonishing and diverse car choice at the time
Gran Turismo 3: Great graphics as the first of the PS2 GT games but the actual game play itself not so good. Glowing brake discs and some of the tracks were cool though and you got to drive fake F1 cars and the 787B.
Gran Turismo 4: Very underrated game, better game play, tracks, car choice, refined graphics and cool details like exhaust flames on overrun. I think this one might be my favourite.
Gran Turismo 5: Quite disappointing, non premium cars looked terrible and overall graphics were poor compared to many other games.
Gran Turismo 6: Quite a lot of improvements over 5 but still some way to go to be as astonishing as 1,2 and 4 were.

I really hope GT Sport is good because I'm a die-hard GT fan. So much so I'm importing my favourite car from the 1st game. A 300ZX Fairlady Twin Turbo manual with a T-Bar roof of course.

[Welshbeef]

I was a big fan but then Forza 2 came along just at the right time and blew GT out of the pitch.

[Matt100HP]

Welshbeef said:

I was a big fan but then Forza 2 came along just at the right time and blew GT out of the pitch.

This, really.

I wouldn't say GT started my love of cars, but it sure as hell helped me to indulge it years before I'd be able to get behind the wheel of a real car. However, for the past decade or so the Forza Motorsport games seem to have overtaken and continued to pull an ever greater lead over GT in almost every aspect I can think of (aside from car count, which GT somewhat artificially boosts with numerous versions of basically the same car).

[danllama]

I'm convinced Gran Turismo impregnated me with a love for Japanese cars. It's ridiculous.

Shameless plug; my instagram and facebook page @snappedbydan are mostly Japanese cars

I have a memory of pure glee from going to a shop in Ilford and buying GT2 for myself from pocket money saved up.

And of course, a PS and GT1 for Christmas. Good memories.

GT4, I had a thick notepad with best times around the Ring in GT4. I'd sit there for hours just lapping it, noting down times. Probably one of the most dedicated periods of my life

And of course, smashing off walls trying to beat the computer!

Edited by danllama on Thursday 3rd November 13:46

[llcoolmac]

This couldn't be a more appropriate thread! I just started replaying GT3 about a week ago.

I am 47 game days in with an mx5 as tuned as much as possible using N/A upgrades only, a crx for the FF championship and a mk 3 Mr2 for the roadster cup and MR cup. Yaris cup is up next.

It's funny though in my actual real world garage I have a Alfa 156 V6 and an MR2 G-limited, both of which are in the game with the exact spec and I can't afford them yet. I need more credits dammit!! (If it was 2001 I would be the coolest man on earth to teenager me)

[rampageturke]

Did all the GT4 24hour races A-Spec by myself, was proud of myself at the time as a teenager

...yeah

[siovey]

I was always a car fan before GT1 came out and loved racing games, from race fun on the speccy, pitstop 2 on the c64 all the way up to the then modern day. I just happened to be browsing the computer game magazines one day and spotted GT1 was mentioned on the cover of a playstation magazine. I had a quick look inside and went straight from the shop to buy a ps1 and a copy of the game. It was astonishing at the time! I've had every one since but 4 will always be my favourite as it was the first game i'd had with the Nurburgring in it. I also loved that Italian track where you raced through the narrow streets, cant remember its name now though...

[nsa]

Before GT I had a Fiat Panda, Renault 5, VW Polo, but after GT1 came out in 1997 I became a Honda fan and discovered the NSX, then I managed to buy one in 2004. I also started going to the Nurburgring around 2006 after driving the track in GT4 from 2004, and I now run a website about the Ring. I must have spent a month of my life playing the various GT games.

[essIII]

Was there a better car than a second hand Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4, painted in a Puma livery?!

[RevOne]

Anyone else have their parents turn off the PS2 while on a short sleep break 18 hours into a 24hour endurance race? Stuff that causes therapy that

[ACB85]

Always had an interest in cars. Then when GT came out I was hooked. Always remember as it came out on near my birthday. So got GT 1 with the first dual shock controller. My dad and I played a lot of this game together. Helped being 13 and having loads of time to play!

I think I bought every iteration, especially good fun when I got my Momo steering wheel operational on GT4! Only version I skipped was GT6 as my interest was waning. The format was pretty stale and I was more and more frustrated with the bad engine sounds. They'd always been pretty ropy and it never got any attention on subsequent releases.

With other games pushing better physics and car sounds to some extent I cared more about that than graphics (Live for Speed anyone?). Hope GT Sport will set the standard again

[AH33]

Forza is better in every way

[slipstream 1985]

That gt2 race on the rome track where you might win unless that bloody ford gt was on the grid. then it was block city if you could dive bomb it on a tight corner.

Agreed about the above how haandling weight and tyres were important too. But first car was always an old supra with the massive stage 4 turbo and nothing else. SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEDBOAT!

[Matt Bird]

RevOne said:

Anyone else have their parents turn off the PS2 while on a short sleep break 18 hours into a 24hour endurance race? Stuff that causes therapy that

YES! "Oh, I saw a light on and thought you must have forgotten about it." No mother, I was winning the Nurburgring 24-Hour

[C.A.R.]

We didn't have a console in our house until the PS2, so my fascination arguably started with Need For Speed II on the PC. But when Gran Turismo 3 came about I basically spent every waking moment playing it. Well that's not true, my parents would obviously limit that time, but I would wake up at the crack-of-dawn on a weekend to come downstairs and have a session on GT3.

For me the series lost its' way a little bit with every installation following GT3. Yes the range of cars was limited, but the simplicity and graphics (for its' time) were unbeatable. Who could possibly forget-

Mitsubishi FTO LM - Mine had been to the moon and back several times I think
Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak Edition
Tuning your first Skyline to 1000hp+
Those bl**dy Toyota Yaris races!

[PoopahScoopah]

I was already a total petrol head teenager by the time GT came out. I think what sticks with me the most, and what impressed me the most was the education value of it. I'd spend hours just flicking through the (seemingly endless) lists of cars, memorising stats and fascinated by some of the history. It was a total geek fest! It also introduced some really rare stuff to me.

Apart from that, my main enduring memory would be always working up to a R32 GTR with all mods. I sadly forget the exact BHP figure but it was something like 1004bhp at full tune. Even with the stickiest tyres it would be an animal - bog, bog, boooooost, oh fk there's another tyre wall! Races could be easily won by just barging other cars out of the way and then bouncing it off the walls around corners, with actual 'proper' driving far less satisfying as it always felt like you had to nanny the car on part throttle the whole time. Then you'd end up in the gravel and there was so much turbo lag it would take 5 mins to crawl back out with the engine struggling to make any power.

[PoopahScoopah]

Oh, and being a poor loser when a race went wrong. So I'd handbrake it around then gun it the wrong way up to full speed and see how impressive a head on collision I could get with the lead car. Yeah, ruining a computer generated opponent's race meant a lot as a teenager!