It’s Gran Turismo 7 update day, but instead of using one of v1.34’s new cars Polyphony Digital has gone left-field and presented us with another taxing Lap Time Challenge to match last week’s Super Formula cars at Autopolis combo.
This time we’re presented with the Streets of Willow Springs’ Reverse layout alongside the funky GReddy Fugu Z. It’s a car notable for its connection to ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise actor Sung-Ho Kang, who employed tuning company GReddy to completely overhaul a Nissan Fairlady Z (known as a Datsun 240Z outside Japan) to his personal tastes.
As a result, the car was fitted with a modern 2.6l RB26DETT motor from a Nissan Skyline GT-R (minus the turbocharging), and underwent a complete body transformation in the form of a full Rocket Bunny bodykit. Thanks to its distinctive looks and character, the car won the ‘Gran Turismo Best in Show’ award at the 2015 SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Market Association).
As is tradition, the winner of this award goes on to appear in the Gran Turismo franchise, with the Fugu Z first appearing in GT Sport. But why the name ‘Fugu’? Well, Fugu is a Japanese pufferfish dish, which, if incorrectly prepared by specially-trained chefs can lead to poisoning or even death.
Which seems appropriate for the Z given its vintage proportions and surplus of power. Dominic Toretto would naturally approve of such silliness. (“You don’t need grip when you got family” etc.)
The Streets of Willow Springs is an odd track. Located next to the spacious, high-speed and characterful Willow Springs International Raceway, the Streets of Willow Springs is a relatively low-speed and frustrating ribbon of asphalt to attack. Better known as a skid pan and filming location for car shows, the track is still used for testing and track days.
With few visual markers, it’s a tricky course to learn – especially as many of the corners look alike. No amount of double-clutching will help here: you need to be neat with your lines as any track cuts are punished by total laptime deletion.
But mild corner-cutting is still required to get the best times here, but aim to do it in a way that doesn’t upset the car, as one mistake will lead to being off-line for the next sequence of tight turns and more time loss.
At the time of publication, the fastest lap has been set by GT7 player Exosum with a 1:15.969. Their lap is shown above and displays the kind of controlled aggression required to get the best out of this tricky car and track combination (granny shifters need not apply).
GT7‘s Lap Time Challenge is a time trial mode where you compete against other players to set the fastest time on the leaderboard. However, there’s a caveat: setting a lap within three per cent of the fastest time nets players 2,000,000 Credits.
If you aren’t quite quick enough, then lapping within five per cent gains you 1,000,000 Credits, while a time inside 10 per cent of the fastest results in a 250,000 Credit payout.
Recommended car: GReddy Fugu Z (Brand Central 300,000 Credits or free rental)
Lap Time Challenge
Race Information
Track: Streets of Willow Springs Reverse
Entry Period: 25th May – 8th June
Regulations
Useable Tyres: Sports: Soft
Wide body: Prohibited
Nitrous: Unrestricted
Car Restrictions
Bop/Tuning Forbidden: On
Car Used: GReddy Fugu Z
Car Settings: Specified
Race Settings
Track Limit: Normal
Penalty Settings
Shortcut Penalty: Invalidate Time
