GT7 Online Time Trials: Two New Combos Showcasing the 1.71 Cars (20 August 2026)

We've got two Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trials this round, both going live on 20 August 2026 and running for the usual two weeks, ending on 3 September 2026.

There's a neat theme tying them together. Both combos feature cars that landed with update 1.71, so Polyphony is putting the new machinery front and centre. The Caterham Seven Superlight R500 heads to Autopolis Short Course, and the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N takes on the mighty Nürburgring 24h. It's also worth remembering that 1.71 brought a substantial tyre physics overhaul, so both of these are your first proper taste of the new model in a competitive setting.

Caterham Seven Superlight R500 at Autopolis Short Course

The first combo pairs the R500 with the Autopolis Short Course on Sports Medium tyres, and it's a fantastic match. The current world-best is already at 1:13.742, which is seriously quick around a short, technical layout, and I'd expect the gold target to land somewhere in the 1:15.5 to 1:15.7 range.

The Caterham is the star here. The Seven Superlight debuted in 1996, more than two decades after Caterham acquired the production rights to the Lotus Seven in 1973, with extensive weight savings making it up to 110 lbs lighter than the standard model. From 2008 the later versions ran a 2.0-litre Ford engine producing 262hp, good for 0 to 62mph in just 2.88 seconds and genuinely supercar-rivalling performance in something that weighs practically nothing.

That featherweight nature is exactly what makes this tricky. With so little mass, the R500 changes direction instantly, but it also means there's very little inertia to settle the car, so any clumsy input is immediately obvious. On Sports Mediums the grip window is narrow, and at Autopolis Short Course the lap is brief enough that a single mistake wipes out a big chunk of your time. Smoothness and consistency will beat aggression every time here.

Hyundai IONIQ 6 N at the Nürburgring 24h

The second combo is a completely different beast, the IONIQ 6 N on Sports Medium tyres around the Nürburgring 24h layout. The current world-best sits at 9:32.867, and I'd expect gold to land somewhere in the 9:47.0 to 9:48.5 range.

The IONIQ 6 N is Hyundai's second high-performance electric vehicle, producing 641hp and 770Nm of torque and hitting 0 to 62mph in 3.2 seconds. Its aerodynamic sedan design, N Active Sound+ and N e-Shift technology deliver engaging sound and simulated gear changes, which is Hyundai's attempt at preserving the excitement of driving in an electric performance car.

Pairing a heavy, torque-rich EV with over 25 km of the Nordschleife is a proper challenge. The weight is the main enemy, you have to respect the braking zones and get the car slowed before you turn in, because it will push wide if you carry too much speed. The instant torque means throttle discipline matters enormously out of the slower corners, and with a lap this long, one mistake in the final sector means starting the whole thing again. Expect a lot of resets and budget your time accordingly, because a clean Nordschleife lap is a ten-minute commitment every single attempt.

How to Approach Both

The same fundamentals apply to both combos. Run ghost laps from the top 100 rather than chasing the world-record ghost, since a gold-pace reference is far more useful and far less demoralising. Be smooth with your inputs, because the featherweight Caterham and the torque-heavy Hyundai both punish clumsiness, just in completely different ways.

The bigger point is the physics. Update 1.71 changed tyre behaviour when slipping, adjusted heating and wear, reworked throttle control and steering geometry, and altered how traction control and ABS intervene. If you have muscle memory from previous Time Trials, expect it to be slightly off. Give yourself time to recalibrate before you start chasing tenths, and treat the first session as learning rather than lap-time hunting.

Patience is the word here, for both. Put in plenty of laps, accept you'll bin a few on the kerbs, and slowly chip away at the deltas.

Final Thoughts

A great fortnight, and a smart bit of scheduling from Polyphony. Two brand-new cars from 1.71, two wildly different circuits, and the first real opportunity to feel out the new physics model in a competitive setting.

The Caterham at Autopolis is the quick-fire one, short laps and fast turnaround, ideal if you've only got half an hour here and there. The IONIQ 6 N at the Nordschleife is the proper grind, demanding real commitment and real focus. Between them they cover just about every kind of Time Trial challenge going.

Let us know what you think about these combinations, and how the new physics are feeling out there.