Gran Turismo 5 – the best key cars to own
Like Jungle, Gran Turismo 5 is massive.
Because it’s so big and there are over a thousand cars to choose from, it’s pretty easy to waste valuable time and effort buying and tuning cars that aren’t quite up to scratch. There are many specific cars that must be bought and won along the way to GT5 glory, but these are the five that I think are the most useful, how much they cost, how you can get hold of them and why they are so great. First up…
1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evo / Subaru Impreza
Cost: 30,000
Ok, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea but a good Evo or Scooby will see you right for a long time. Whack some dirt and snow tires on them, add the torque-adjusting 4WD attachments, and hey presto – you’ve got yourself a multi-purpose road/rally car that drives like a dream and doesn’t cost the earth. Also, pick the Lancer Evolution IX GSR ’05 RM or Impreza Sedan WRX STI Spec C Type RA ’05 and you can race-modify them in the ‘GT Auto’ garage, making them look extra-cool and saving you a bundle of credits in terms of tuning upgrades.
Cost: 77,700
The GTR ’07 is one of far too many Nissans in the game and is thus easy to overlook. But what the GTR ’07 has over the others is its wonderful stability, even after ridiculous tuning upgrades which can double horsepower levels to over 800. The GTR ’07 also has some very funky alloys available for it, which makes it a good-looking sound buy early on that will continue to reap benefits throughout the game, especially as a overpowered easy-handling car for your fledgling B-Spec drivers to cope with.
Cost: 185,000
We’re stepping up a gear now. Not the best-looking car in the game, but the ZR1 can be race-modified in the ‘GT Auto’ garage and, rather like a superhero, transforms itself from an oversteering, dodgy-looking American muscle car to a rather more finely balanced, slightly-better-looking racing monster. Not the outright fastest car in the game by an means, but it’s more than quick enough to win all the important oval races and muscle car championships that can otherwise be a struggle in the ‘Professional’ and ‘Expert’ series. A must-have.
Cost: N/A
The Toyota 88C is a rogue in this list because of it is generally unavailable to buy. It’s not in the dealership, and it won’t pop up in the used car section either. You can only obtain it by winning the A-Spec ‘Like the Wind’ series (level 21 – which you will win using the Corvette ZR1 mentioned above) but once you do obtain one, it opens up the proper ‘GT’ sections of the game. Without the Minolta, you’d have to save up around 5,000,000 credits to buy yourself a proper ‘Le Mans’ car and the 88-CV can be used to win many, many A-Spec and B-Spec races without too much hassle.
Cost: 5,000,000
The FGT is a fictional car, but one essential for progression in GT5. Essentially a Formula One car in all but name, the FGT will outperform every other car in the game with the exception of the equally-fictional Red Bull X2010. It is only required specifically for the FGT series at level 23, but this supercar will win you any event you stick it in and is a godsend for B-Spec when you just want to leave it running in the background while you pop off and do something more interesting. It’s expensive, but will pay for itself in the long run.
I hope that’s been useful. It’s also worth telling you that ‘garbuckle’ over has created a rather brilliant Gran Turismo ‘Matrix’ PDF file (which you can find here) detailing all of the game’s events, cars, trophies and their related credit and experience values. It’s a bit of a spreadsheet but is the most comprehensive guide to the game and its content that I’ve seen to date.
