The upcoming Gran Turismo 7 is an equipment junkie's wet dream

All of you e-equipment junkies out there: mark March 4, 2022 on your calendar for Gran Turismo 7 (GT7).

While most racing simulations work around a theme, GT7 tries to capture the full breadth of car culture throughout automotive history.

More so than any other GT game, GT7 is built around the ‘culture’ of car collecting. You acquire prize cars either through races, Brand Central or the Used Car Dealership; so get ready to grind hard for the digital car of your dreams.

When you finally get your hands on those cars you can make it truly yours by using the new improved Livery Editor to customise your new ride to your heart’s content.

Customisation is not limited solely to aesthetics and you’re given a wealth of options so you can tweak and tune the car’s performance. These include adjustments for engine performance, suspension, transmission gearing, brakes, tires, etc. Changes will have different effects on the behaviour of the vehicle.

GT Auto makes a comeback, offering mods that include wheel swaps, wide-body modifications, installation of roll cages and (of course) aerodynamic parts. They’ve even made it such that you can change your engine oil and wash your car for good measure. Good Lord, will it rain in-game after you wash your car?

While we can’t take long drives through Europe, we can do that via the atmospheric GT Campaign mode, which is making its long-awaited return. GT7 is also bringing back legendary circuits like Trial Mountain and High-Speed Ring, which have been updated graphically to take advantage of the new generation console’s processing prowess.

You’ll also notice that the time and weather will dynamically change – the algorithms are based on actual meteorological data, and the resulting skyline is then checked against its real-world counterpart.

A feature called Scapes – aka the money shot generator – lets you simulate photorealistic, desktop wallpaper-like shots of your favourite cars with a choice of picturesque backdrops spanning over 2,500 locations across 43 countries. It even supports panning shots for those [insert your favourite car show here]-worthy moments.

Gran Turismo 7 is available on the PS4 and PS5 consoles and is set to launch on March 4, 2022.

This article was first published in Potions.sg.