Despite having the licence to the event, Polyphony Digital have for the longest time not taken advantage of it to add the Pikes Peak Hill Climb to Gran Turismo 7. Could that be about to change?
All the way back on Gran Turismo 2, players could tackle a portion of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It was only about 2.6 miles, not the full 12.5 miles that was covered by Romain Dumas in just under eight minutes driving the Volkswagen ID.R.
Ever since, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been a rarity as first-party content in racing games. Most recently, 2015's DiRT Rally featured the track, both as gravel and tarmac versions. Gran Turismo developers Polyphony Digital is believed to have held the exclusivity licence for seven years, and even had the track in the files of Gran Turismo 5 - but never released it.
In the lead up to this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours, a collaboration between Gran Turismo and Hyundai was announced. In a statement put out by Hyundai, the brands were announced to collaborate "for various sim racing activities including Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) participation".
Of course, this involves a lot of speculation. But considering this statement, is it too much of a stretch to suggest that Pikes Peak could be making its way to Gran Turismo 7 as a result?
At the car's launch alongside the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Gran Turismo series producer Kazunori Yamauchi revealed that the Pikes Peak event would just be the start of a bunch of projects between Hyundai and Gran Turismo. The Gran Turismo name will appear as a sponsor on the cars, although this is not entirely indicative of anything since the it appears on many cars in motorsport.
With that being said, they do sponsor the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb event, too. Although it has to be said that they have done so since November 2014, and it has not been added to the game yet.
Considering their plans for "sim racing activities", surely that at least points to a lot more Hyundai cars being added to Gran Turismo in the future. Currently in GT7, Hyundai's car list consists of the Genesis 3.8 along with racing versions of it that comply to the game's Gr. 3, Gr. 4 and Gr. B car classes. Then there is the Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo car both in Gr. X and Gr. 1 classes.
Additionally, there is Hyundai's luxury vehicle brand called Genesis, essentially acting as what Lexus is to Toyota and Infiniti is to Nissan. Genesis' G70 appears as its production model and a Gr. 4 racing car. There is also the Gr. 3 racing version of their X concept car and finally, revealed at the GT World Finals last year, a Vision Gran Turismo concept designed by Berlinetta.
Plenty of cars mentioned in that datamine - including the Suzuki V6 ESCUDO - have made their way to the game since. Unfortunately, as of the publishing of this article, the Peugeot is still not in GT7. But there would be no more fitting time to add it along with the Hyundai cars racing at the event later this month, and of course, the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb track. Image: Maxxl2 via Wikimedia Commons, available for distribution under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license
Usually, Gran Turismo 7 sees teasers and updates released towards the end of the month. Therefore, with the Pikes Peak event taking place later this month, perhaps that makes it the perfect time to finally give the Pikes Peak fans an up-to-date virtual representation of the track in GT7.
Do you believe that the Pikes Peak Hill Climb could be getting added to Gran Turismo 7? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
All the way back on Gran Turismo 2, players could tackle a portion of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It was only about 2.6 miles, not the full 12.5 miles that was covered by Romain Dumas in just under eight minutes driving the Volkswagen ID.R.
Ever since, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been a rarity as first-party content in racing games. Most recently, 2015's DiRT Rally featured the track, both as gravel and tarmac versions. Gran Turismo developers Polyphony Digital is believed to have held the exclusivity licence for seven years, and even had the track in the files of Gran Turismo 5 - but never released it.
In the lead up to this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours, a collaboration between Gran Turismo and Hyundai was announced. In a statement put out by Hyundai, the brands were announced to collaborate "for various sim racing activities including Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) participation".
Of course, this involves a lot of speculation. But considering this statement, is it too much of a stretch to suggest that Pikes Peak could be making its way to Gran Turismo 7 as a result?
Hyundai Pikes Peak
From 23 June, Hyundai will be fielding four bespoke electric cars at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Along with two production Ioniq 5 N models, two specially modified Time Attack variants will compete. These versions are set to produce 677 horsepower and will be 200 kilograms lighter than the production model.At the car's launch alongside the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Gran Turismo series producer Kazunori Yamauchi revealed that the Pikes Peak event would just be the start of a bunch of projects between Hyundai and Gran Turismo. The Gran Turismo name will appear as a sponsor on the cars, although this is not entirely indicative of anything since the it appears on many cars in motorsport.
With that being said, they do sponsor the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb event, too. Although it has to be said that they have done so since November 2014, and it has not been added to the game yet.
Considering their plans for "sim racing activities", surely that at least points to a lot more Hyundai cars being added to Gran Turismo in the future. Currently in GT7, Hyundai's car list consists of the Genesis 3.8 along with racing versions of it that comply to the game's Gr. 3, Gr. 4 and Gr. B car classes. Then there is the Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo car both in Gr. X and Gr. 1 classes.
Additionally, there is Hyundai's luxury vehicle brand called Genesis, essentially acting as what Lexus is to Toyota and Infiniti is to Nissan. Genesis' G70 appears as its production model and a Gr. 4 racing car. There is also the Gr. 3 racing version of their X concept car and finally, revealed at the GT World Finals last year, a Vision Gran Turismo concept designed by Berlinetta.
Pikes Peak in GT7
There is no shortage of Pikes Peak cars in Gran Turismo 7 either, such as the aforementioned record-holding Volkswagen ID.R, or the iconic Suzuki V6 ESCUDO Pikes Peak Special with its massive wing. There was a datamine from June 2022 that even suggested that the Peugeot 208 T16 that Sebastien Loeb previously held the Pikes Peak record in was being added to the game.Plenty of cars mentioned in that datamine - including the Suzuki V6 ESCUDO - have made their way to the game since. Unfortunately, as of the publishing of this article, the Peugeot is still not in GT7. But there would be no more fitting time to add it along with the Hyundai cars racing at the event later this month, and of course, the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb track. Image: Maxxl2 via Wikimedia Commons, available for distribution under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license
Usually, Gran Turismo 7 sees teasers and updates released towards the end of the month. Therefore, with the Pikes Peak event taking place later this month, perhaps that makes it the perfect time to finally give the Pikes Peak fans an up-to-date virtual representation of the track in GT7.
Do you believe that the Pikes Peak Hill Climb could be getting added to Gran Turismo 7? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
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