My GT7 Log: The stars of the first GT game

When the first-ever Gran Turismo game was launched on the PlayStation in late December 1997, the R33 Skyline GT-R and the JZA80 Supra are the cover cars of the first GT game. In Gran Turismo 7, you have been given the chance to drive the two JDM icons that served as the foundation of the genesis of the Gran Turismo franchise. One of the many reasons to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary.

Here they are; the two JDM legends that served as the foundation of the first Gran Turismo game; the R33 Skyline GT-R from Nissan and the JZA80 Supra from Toyota. Both of these icons became forever favorites coveted by speedo boys around the globe because of their supercar-slaying performance when fully tuned to the critical level. What can I say? You can't really beat the classics, right?

Anyway, before taking a quick spin with the two JDM legends, let's have a quick dive with the stars of the first GT game.

Let's begin with the R33 Skyline GT-R. Penned by its advert as the "minus 21-second roman", the R33 GT-R lapped the legendary Nurburgring 21 seconds faster than its R32 predecessor. The hood is now made of aluminum along with the front fenders and the engine that powers it is the RB26DETT engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, delivering power through all four wheels via Nissan's ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system. This generation once participated in the 1995 Le Mans and one of them finished in 10th place overall, fifth in class.

Hailed as "The Sports of Toyota", the A80-spec Toyota Supra was launched in 1993 and its unique styling makes it one of the most iconic sports cars ever to come out from Japan. This generation comes with two engine choices; a naturally aspirated and turbocharged version of the 3.0L 2JZ straight-six engine. The turbocharged variant produces 276HP of power but the ones used in the JGTC (now called SuperGT) produce between less than 400 to 500HP, although speedo boys love to tune the Supra to Fast and Furious levels. Toyota says that this Supra is the best handling in its class because of its double-wishbone suspension setup. Despite being discontinued in 2002, it remains popular among speedo boys, and if it's good enough for Paul Walker, it's good enough for every speedo boy worldwide.

With their quick introduction done, it's time to take these two for a one-lap time attack around the Tsukuba Circuit. This is quite a coincidence because back in my GT SPORT days, I pitted these two round Tsukuba to find out which of these icons is the best and in the end, the R33 emerged as the winner. Now that we're living in the GT7 era, it's time to redo the experiment for nostalgic purposes.

I'm getting basked to the glory of the game's improved graphics and physics compared to GT SPORT but this is no time for that, it's time to find out which one is the best. Roll the tape.

After a quick lap around Tsukuba, again, here are the results;

JZA80 - 1m08.861s

R33 GT-R - 1m07.509s

Wow, these cars are better than they were in their GT SPORT days but in the end, it's Godzilla trumped The Fast and the Furious. Victory for the GT-R.

Looking at the cover art of the first Gran Turismo game and these two cars with your eyes, it's certain that why they are loved by many because they really are the originals that forged from our passion for cars and it's certainly where we are now without them. Yes, I know, I said this line before but it's good to have the icons back for more fun in GT7.

The R33 GT-R and the JZA80 Supra, they have really been the foundation of the Gran Turismo franchise ever since they've been chosen to be the cover cars of the first game. As the franchise continues to evolve, so does our love of cars and looks like we should be thankful for these two JDM legends that laid the seeds of this iconic car racing franchise. The more you know.

GT SPORT: The Originals

When the first ever Gran Turismo game was launched in the PlayStation since late December 1997, the R33 Skyline GT-R and the JZA80 Supra are the cover cars of the first GT game and with these cars now playable on GT SPORT, it's time to savor the moment with the original GT heroes.




Here they are. They were the cover cars of the original game and twenty years later, these originals still looking fresh in the prime of their lives. This is definitely the dream where all motoring dreams are made of thanks to these cars and the Gran Turismo series itself since the beginning.



Before having a blast with the originals, let's get to know the originals that became immortalized in the world of Gran Turismo through the years, beginning with the R33 GT-R. Penned by its advert as the "minus 21-second roman", the R33 GT-R lapped the legendary Nurburgring 21 seconds faster than its R32 predecessor. The hood is now made of aluminum along with the front fenders and the engine that powers it is the RB26DETT engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, delivering power through all four wheels via Nissan's ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system. This generation once participated the 1995 Le Mans and one of them finished in 10th place overall, fifth in class.



Hailed as "The Sports of Toyota", the A80-spec Toyota Supra was launched in 1993 and its unique styling makes it one of the most iconic sports cars ever to come out from Japan. This generation comes with two engine choices; a naturally aspirated and turbocharged version of the 3.0L 2JZ straight-six engine. The turbocharged variant produces 276HP of power but the ones used in the JGTC (now called SuperGT) produces between less than 400 to 500HP, although speedo boys love to tune the Supra to Fast and Furious levels. Toyota says that this Supra is the best handling in its class because of its double wishbone suspension setup. Despite being discontinued in 2002, it remains popular among speedo boys and if its good enough for Paul Walker, it's good enough for every speedo boy worldwide.

So, now that I got my word on these two cars, let's bring these "originals" to that one track that stirs a lot of nostalgia for speedo boys everywhere and I think I got one. Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a trip to Tsukuba Circuit.



Ah, Tsukuba Circuit. This track takes us all back because for speedo boys, this track was commonly used for comparison tests as demonstrated from those direct-to-video Best Motoring tapes and now that Tsukuba's back on GT SPORT, it's the ideal place to take these GT heroes for a spin.



During my sighting laps, I find myself nervous upon driving both of these 90's JDM legends round Tsukuba. The R33 has a tendency to understeer while the Supra is downright tricky to drive due to its rear-wheel drive nature, but the more I get to know these cars, the more I realize that it doesn't take a lot of effort to master these legends. With my sighting laps done, it's time to get scientific as I'm going to find out which one of the cover cars from the first GT game is still the hero of Gran Turismo. As a matter of face, there can be only one so let's get cracking. This is going to be the most interesting moments I have ever done in my GT life.



And now, I got the times...

R33 - 1:08.268
JZA80 - 1:09.129

It's unbelievable! The gap between them is almost a second and looks like Godzilla nicked The Fast and The Furious by almost a second. Consider that a close shave but I had a lot of fun driving these two JDM legends.



As the Gran Turismo franchise continues to evolve through the next two decades, it's impossible to forget the cars that stamped "the real driving simulator" in the first place and these cars have a strong place in the history of Gran Turismo now and forever. Looking at the cover art of the first Gran Turismo game and these two cars with your eyes, it's certain that why they are loved by many because they really are the originals that forged from our passion for cars and it's certain where we are now without them.

It's been an honor to drive the cover cars of the first GT game right here on GT SPORT and whether you are either regrettable or dignified, it's never too late to take a bite with these icons because these cars played a very important role in Gran Turismo history and that is the bottom line.