Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.48 Adds Five New Cars Including JGTC-Winning Honda NSX

It’s the time of the month again for a new Gran Turismo 7 update, with update 1.48 landing this week with five new cars – up from the usual three – with a JGTC legend making a return to the series.

Inarguably the headline act, the 2000 Honda NSX GT500 was last seen in Gran Turismo 6. This particular Castrol Mugen car won the JGTC championship that season and joins a roster of period GT500 cars including the Castrol TOM’S Toyota Supra and Pennzoil Nissan Skyline.

Speaking of Nissan Skylines, another arrives – with the R31 GTS-R Group A homologation special debuting in GT7. It uses an RB20DET, good for 207bhp – and we’ll be willing to put money on the RB26 becoming a possible swap in a future update.

Rounding out a trio of fresh additions from Japan is the EG Honda Civic SiR-II. Predating the Type R which arrived on the EK, the SiR-II was the hottest of the EG Civics, using a 1.6-litre four-pot with all of the VTEC. Expect it to be about five minutes after the update drops that someone has a replica of Shingo Shoji’s EG uploaded.

Volvo makes its GT7 debut with two cars. The first would normally be the most rogue choice of any update, with the V40 T5 R-Design an unexpected but welcome addition. Its inline-five is good for 210bhp and bolsters a decent list of hot hatches available in the game.

Even stranger, although perhaps not that much of an oddball for a series full of them, is the Volvo 240 SE Estate. Nope, not even the Turbo which spawned so much racing success, rather the sedate wagon. It’s also not the first 240 estate to appear in GT, with the GLT in GT4.

Sadly, we’re devoid of new track for another month, and we’re beginning to wonder if any new circuits will arrive again in Gran Turismo 7 or if we’ll have to wait for GT8 at this point.

An ‘Extra Menu’ will be added, though, requiring you to collect a trio of set cars to be rewarded a prize. This time, it’s ‘Racers of the Japanese GT’, presumably requiring you to collect the trio of JGTC legends we mentioned earlier. Four new events will be added to World Circuits, along with extra freedom to pan the camera up and down in the game's Scapes photomode.

Gran Turismo 7’s 1.48 update will arrive on 30 June following server maintenance that begins at 7am UK time.