Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Originally titled as the Zen Nihon GT Senshuken (全日本GT選手権), generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of sports car racing in Japan.
The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). Autobacs has served as the title sponsor of the series since 1998, during which the series was still named JGTC.
The cars are divided into two groups: GT300 and GT500. The names of the categories derive from their traditional maximum horsepower limit - in the early years of the series, GT500 cars would have no more than 500 horsepower, GT300 cars would max out at around 300 hp. However, the current generation of GT500 powerplants produce in excess of 650 horsepower; these cars form the base of Gr.2 class in Gran Turismo Sport, which has since been extended to longtail GT1 cars starting from Gran Turismo 7. Meanwhile, in present-day GT300, the horsepower range varies from around 400 to just over 550 horsepower; however, GT300 cars have far less downforce than their GT500 counterparts. By 2010, GT3 cars have become common in GT300 class.
Since Gran Turismo 2, most major games in the series that feature JGTC/Super GT race cars carries an official license from GT Association.
Vehicles in Gran Turismo[]
See Category:JGTC and Category:Super GT Cars for a list of cars that have competed in JGTC or Super GT that appeared in the series.
Event Races in Gran Turismo[]
- GT500 Championship (GT2)
- GT300 Championship (GT2)
- All Japan GT Championship (GT3, Amateur)
- All Japan GT Championship (GT3, Professional)
- All Japan GT Championship (GT4)
- Super GT (GT5)
- Super GT GT500 (GT6)
- Super GT GT300 (GT6)
- All Japan GT Car Championships (GT Sport)
- All Japan GT Car Championship Special Event (GT7)
Trivia[]
- Several GT500 and GT300 cars based on foreign makes were cut from Gran Turismo 2 due to licensing issues. They are as follows, with internal names in the parenthesis:[1]
- JLOC DIABLO GTR '97 (gtd7r)
- RainX DIABLO DL '98 (gtd8r)
- JLOC DIABLO GT-1 '99 (gtd9r)
- TEAM FCJ Ferrari No.28 '97 (gtf7r)
- TFCJ Ferrari F355GT '98 (gtf8r)
- SOK Mclaren GTR '99 (gtm9r)
- STP TAISAN PORSCHE GT2'97 (gtp7r)
- TAISAN PORSCHE RSR '99 (gtp9r)
- The GT2 demo car replay name listings, from which the above list was obtained also mentions KOSEI & Buddy club MR2 '98 (t2bmr), FET SPORTS SUPRA'98 (t2s8r), and TSUCHIYA MR2 '98 (t2tmr), which are racing modifications for Toyota MR2 GT-S '96, TRD 3000GT (based on 1996/1997 specification of the FET Supra), and Toyota MR2 GT-S '98 (although originally planned for TRD 2000GT), respectively.[1]
- In addition to above's removed JGTC cars from GT2, Gran Turismo 6 has another GT300 car removed from the game, BMW GSR Hatsune Miku BMW '12 (with internal name of gsr_hatsunemiku_bmw_12), presumably due to licensing issues pertaining to the Hatsune Miku character likeness.[2]
- A 2012-specification Toyota Prius GT300 race car was scanned by Polyphony Digital in 2012, but the car have yet to make an appearance in the series.[3]
- In GT2, all JGTC Skyline GT-Rs incorrectly feature four-wheel drivetrain instead of an FR one.
- A special thanks credit for GTA Co., Ltd. (the GT Association) appears in the ending credits of GT Sport, well before addition of the Super GT cars to the game.
- Due to the delayed start of the 2020 Super GT season as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese Automobile Federation (the sanctioning body for the series) held a virtual race featuring Super GT racers called the SGT × GTS Special Race on June 20 and August 4, 2020; the second round of the event occurred after the regular Super GT season had begun. The events used Gr.3 cars for GT500 entrants, instead of Gr.2 ones.
- The Gran Turismo TV video-on-demand service in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Gran Turismo 5 formerly provided highlights of Super GT races until the 2009 season, available until 2012.[4] Super GT coverage would return to the Gran Turismo TV in its YouTube channel iteration by the way of coverage of Igor Fraga's Super GT (and Super Formula Lights) races beginning from 2023.