Gran Turismo 7 Spec IV: Sportsland Sugo and Six New Cars Lead the First Wave

Gran Turismo 7 is still getting new content years after launch. As reported by Vandal, Polyphony Digital will release the first part of the Spec IV update on October 15 at 8:00 a.m. (mainland Spain time). It's a free package that brings a track never before seen in the series, six new vehicles, and a range of additional features and modes. The studio considered this content big enough to split into two installments, with the second arriving in December.

Why does it matter? In a sim that lives on online play and competition, every new track reshapes the race calendar, the tunes people share, and the benchmark times everyone is chasing. And this time it isn't a recycled layout: Sportsland Sugo is making its first-ever appearance in Gran Turismo, which puts the whole community on the same starting grid.

What you need to know

• The first part of Spec IV arrives on October 15 at 8:00 a.m. (mainland Spain time) and is free.
• The Japanese circuit Sportsland Sugo, owned by Yamaha Motor Company, makes its series debut.
• Six new cars are added, ranging from a Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo to a Citroën 2 CV.
• The second part arrives in December with six more vehicles, the Autumn Ring circuit, and more new features.
• Polyphony Digital has also announced new features and game modes as part of this update.

Sportsland Sugo: a historic track with serious elevation changes

The new circuit is located in Murata, in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, and opened in 1975. Its signature trait, according to Vandal, is its dramatic elevation changes, which in a sim translate into tricky braking zones, cars going light over crests, and very demanding weight management. This is no makeshift layout: it has hosted touring car championships, Formula Nippon, superbike races, and even the D1 Grand Prix drift series, so it has the pedigree for almost any discipline.

As for the cars, the lineup is as varied as the series usually offers. These are the six arriving in the first wave:

• Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo
• Ferrari F355 Berlinetta ’94
• Honda Civic Si Group A version ’87
• Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Evo ’26
• Honda Step WGN Spada Premium Line ’23
• Citroën 2 CV 6 Charleston ’86

An update in two stages

The way the content is split makes it clear that Spec IV is a medium-term play. Here's the schedule as it stands so far:

In total, if everything goes as announced, Spec IV will add twelve cars and two tracks over two months, all at no extra cost for anyone who already owns the game.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz, we're clear on this: one new track is worth more than ten cars. Vehicles expand the garage, but a brand-new layout resets the competition. With its elevation changes, Sportsland Sugo looks set to be one of those tracks that separates drivers who rely on their eyes from those who drive with the wheel and their right foot. For competitive players, the first few weeks will be a race to find the right lines, braking points, and ideal setups; for content creators, it's a golden opportunity to publish guides, hot laps, and comparisons before anyone else.

That said, there are some caveats. Splitting the content into two parts keeps the conversation going, but it can also be read as a way to stretch out interest in a game that has already been around for a while. And the car list, while fun, mixes race machines like the RX-Vision GT3 Evo with oddities like a Honda minivan or a 2 CV. They have their collector's charm, but we doubt we'll see the Step WGN on a serious grid. We're more interested in how Polyphony will fit Mazda's GT3 car into the class balance, because that's where the real competition happens.

Even so, the overall picture is positive: free content, a track with real history in Japanese motorsport, and a clear roadmap through December. That's exactly what a competitive community needs to keep from going stale.

What do you think?

Is this first batch of Spec IV enough for you, or would you have preferred getting everything at once? Which of the six cars will you try first at Sugo? Let us know in the team chat or on our Discord: do you think Sportsland Sugo deserves a spot in the competitive race rotation?