Japan’s top-tier GT series has a rare kind of magic: homegrown, distinctly regional, not even vaguely concerned with outside trends, and yet somehow evolved into one of the most beloved tin-top racing championships in the world.

So why do fans adore it? The reasons aren’t hard to find.

Start with race weekends that regularly feature 40+ cars, split between the insanely fast GT500 class — factory silhouette machines turned up to eleven — and the wonderfully chaotic GT300 class, a mix of GT3 cars and home-grown specials, ranging from screaming V8s to improbably quick Priuses. The result? Non-stop battles, traffic management, and strategy playing out across the entire field, lap after lap.

Then there’s the cultural side. Itasha (anime-themed) liveries aren’t a gimmick here —they’re part of the DNA. Add in near-tribal fan loyalty and you’ve got grandstands divided between Nissan, Toyota, and Honda (the famous “J3”), with supporters waving giant flags, wearing team colours head to toe, and cheering like it’s a derby match.

In SUPER GT, like football, you choose a team and you don’t, ever, swap sides!

Oh, and yes — there’s the famous Race Queen culture. In SUPER GT, these brand ambassadors travel the calendar, have their own merchandise, and draw crowds for autograph sessions that sometimes rival the drivers themselves. It’s a uniquely Japanese blend of motorsport, pop culture, and fandom — and the Race Queens are unapologetically part of the show.

For a great primer on the series, check out this official SUPER GT overview[supergt.net] from the organisers. Or you can sit back and watch the SUPER GT official YouTube channel.

And now the good news for sim racers...

Project Motor Racing will be the first sim on any platform to bring the full flavour of modern SUPER GT to life with the Japanese GT500 Pack, featuring five current GT500 machines alongside four icons from the golden age of JGTC, and one new circuit.

What’s in the Japanese GT500 Pack

• Honda Civic GT500 2024:[projectmotorracing.com] A radical new GT500 silhouette that hides prototype-level aero and race engineering beneath a familiar production shape.

• Honda NSX GT500 2022:[projectmotorracing.com] The final evolution of Honda’s NSX GT500 platform, prized for balance, precision, and high-speed confidence.

• Nissan Calsonic Impul Z GT500 2022:[projectmotorracing.com] Nissan’s modern GT500 flagship, blending compact silhouette aggression with high-speed stability and relentless factory development.

• Nissan Motul Autech GT-R GT500 2021:[projectmotorracing.com] The culmination of Nissan’s GT-R era in GT500, combining extreme downforce with race-hardened stability.

• Toyota GR Supra GT500 2022:[projectmotorracing.com] Toyota’s GT500 spearhead, engineered for aerodynamic efficiency, tyre management, and relentless race pace.

• Honda NSX JGTC 2003:[projectmotorracing.com] Honda’s mid-engined GT icon, defined by balance, agility, and a decade of relentless top-class development.

• Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) JGTC 2004:[projectmotorracing.com] Nissan’s next-generation GT500 challenger, introducing a compact silhouette optimised for modern aero performance.

• Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) JGTC 2003:[projectmotorracing.com] The GT-R legend in its JGTC prime, marrying iconic silhouette with uncompromising factory racing pedigree.

• Toyota Supra JGTC 2002:[projectmotorracing.com] Toyota’s golden-era GT hero, pairing aggressive aero with race-winning consistency in the peak years of JGTC.

Takimiya Circuit[projectmotorracing.com], a circuit built for lap-by-lap immersion in true SUPER GT style.

This is a technical and flowing racetrack tucked into the hills of western Japan. At just over 3.7 kms (2.3 miles), the track combines tight hairpins, medium-speed sweepers, short straights, and tricky and off-camber corners.

It’s a circuit that favours precision and mechanical grip over brute power, and drivers who can keep it clean and disciplined will always be rewarded with lap time here.

Born in 1993 as the All-Japan GT Championship (JGTC) and reborn as SUPER GT in 2005, this series isn’t just a race calendar — it’s a national event culture.

And no, this isn’t your grandma’s “GT” racing. These cars are characters.

GT500 has always been a rolling identity parade: Nissan, Honda, and Toyota building machines that look vaguely like road cars, but under the skin are basically prototypes — bespoke chassis, serious aero, and performance that wildly exceeds what the badges suggest.

So how fast are they?

While GT3 cars compete globally under Balance of Performance rules designed for customer racing, GT500 machines are factory-developed silhouette racers with far greater aerodynamic and mechanical freedom. Put them side by side on the same circuit and the gap is brutal: At Suzuka, GT500 has lapped around 15 seconds faster in qualifying than international GT3 machinery, and over 12 seconds quicker in race trim under comparable conditions.

That’s what happens when you mix serious downforce, manufacturer development budgets, and zero interest in playing nice.

Oh, and they do it without traction control or ABS. Because in SUPER GT, that kind of safety net is as welcome as a blue flag in qualifying.

For many fans, the early-2000s JGTC era is the one that burned itself into pop culture. The Skyline GT-R (R34), Honda NSX, and Toyota Supra weren’t just race cars — they were national symbols. Poster cars that turned up on Sundays to settle things at racing speed, with fan sections roaring like rival football terraces.

Watch: Classic JGTC highlights — 2003 battles.

The modern GT500 era took that energy and sharpened it. From around 2014, regulations pushed toward cost control and technical alignment—common tubs, tighter frameworks—but manufacturers still express themselves through aero philosophy and silhouette. The result is a grid of cars that look familiar yet behave like weapons.

Different shapes. Same obsession: winning.

GT500’s performance philosophy is closer to DTM’s “Class One” than to GT3. The shift to 2.0-litre turbo fours placed GT500 in a performance and aero bracket well above customer GT racing.

Since 2014, manufacturers share a common monocoque, but identity still lives in aero packaging and silhouette. It’s controlled chaos by design.

Current Heroes

Shō Tsuboi (Toyota): Modern benchmark for pace and consistency.

Tsugio Matsuda (Nissan): Nissan’s talisman, thrives under pressure.

Kenta Yamashita (Toyota): Qualifying weapon with race intelligence.

Yuji Kunimoto (Toyota): Relentlessly dependable across eras.

Nirei Fukuzumi (Honda): Raw speed, especially over one lap.

All-Time Legends

Ronnie Quintarelli: The modern (Italian!) GOAT of GT500.

Satoshi Motoyama: The bridge between JGTC and SUPER GT.

Kazuyoshi Hoshino: Foundational icon of Japanese GT culture.

Masahiro Kageyama: JGTC golden-era master.

Tsugio Matsuda: Rare crossover between modern dominance and all-time status.

...and a final nod to André Lotterer, whose success in Japan helped elevate GT500’s global reputation.

The Champs from the Japanese GT500 Pack

2003 Champion: Satoshi Motoyama & Michael Krumm in Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34).

2022 Champion: Kazuki Hiramine & Bertrand Baguette in Nissan Z GT500.

2023 Champion: Sho Tsuboi & Ritomo Miyata in Toyota GR Supra GT500.

2024 Champion: Sho Tsuboi & Kenta Yamashita in Toyota GR Supra GT500.

2025 Champion: Sho Tsuboi & Kenta Yamashita in Toyota GR Supra GT500.

After reading all that, how can you not love this series?

In summary, this pack gives you two eras in one hit:

• Classic JGTC Legends: Loud shapes, iconic badges, raw energy.

• Modern GT500 Titans: sharper, faster, more precise silhouette racers.

• Takimiya Circuit: fast, flowing, and rich in Japanese motorsport history.

This isn’t “just more cars” added to Project Motor Racing. This is a slice of one of motorsport’s most distinctive cultures. Where manufacturer rivalry is personal, and every season feels like a rolling exhibition of Japanese performance identity.

Watch the Japanese GT500 Pack release trailer, and get ready to race side-by-side!

Every racing season has a moment where the grid resets, lessons are learned, and the next phase begins.

For us at Straight4 Studios, Update 2.0 is that moment for Project Motor Racing.

Since launch, the team has spent months refining the experience alongside the community. Player feedback, internal testing, and a lot of iteration have helped shape the path to Update 2.0 which represents a substantial milestone that touches almost every layer of the sim — how it looks, how it feels to drive, how it works online, and how players progress through a racing career.

In short, this update sets a new baseline for Project Motor Racing moving forward.

Here’s where you’ll see and feel the difference.

Watch our Update 2.0 Launch Trailer.

Keep reading for a more detailed overview. For a full breakdown read the patch notes.

One of the most visible changes in Update 2.0 is the complete overhaul of the game’s User Interface (UI).

Every menu and navigation flow has been rebuilt with clarity and speed in mind. Whether you’re preparing for a race weekend, exploring the car roster, or progressing through Career Mode, the interface is designed to make information easier to access and easier to understand.

We also introduced contextual tooltips across the interface, particularly around car setup parameters and force feedback adjustments. These explanations help players understand what each setting does and how it influences the behaviour of the car.

In particular, our Force Feedback (FFB) settings being both global and per car means drivers have a lot of ways in which they can change the feel of those cars. With these tooltips, they are now empowered to understand what each change will impact in every setting of PMR, be it FFB, setups, or globally.

The goal here wasn’t simply to redesign menus. It was to make interacting with the simulation smoother and more intuitive from the moment you launch the game.

In addition to the new UI there is also the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) Widget. A display tool designed to provide real-time information as you’re driving. For details on that, read this blog: ECU Widget Explained

For any racing simulation, the most important “conversation” happens between the driver and the car.

Shortly after release, our physics and handling teams began working with a dedicated testing group made up of experienced sim racers and well-known developers. Together they focused on how cars communicate grip, how they behave at the limit, and how that information reaches the player through both wheels and controllers.

Update 2.0 delivers the initial results of that collaboration — some of which you have already experienced through previous patches for GT3 and GT4.

Multiple car classes — including Porsche 992 Cup, GT, GTE, and N-GT class — have now also received substantial handling refinements. The underlying tyre model has been revised to better represent how grip develops and fades under load.

The most evolved of these tyres is on the N-GT class and we’d encourage you to give them a run.

Also rebuilt, from the differential to suspension and tyres, is the Mazda MX-5 Cup.

The result is a driving experience that is more progressive and more readable, allowing drivers to better understand what the car is doing as they approach the limit.

Key improvements include:

• More predictable grip-to-slip transitions.

• Improved braking stability.

• Refined traction control and ABS behaviour.

• Enhanced force feedback and controller response.

• Improved throttle and turbo behaviour.

• Better collision interaction between cars.

The aim isn’t to make the cars easier. The aim is to make them communicate more clearly, so the driver can respond with confidence.

This new direction will now begin showing up across all classes as we keep pushing further into refining the simulation.

Multiplayer racing sits at the heart of the PMR experience, and Update 2.0 introduces several systems designed to strengthen that environment.

A newly implemented anti-cheat system helps protect the integrity of competitive events in Ranked Online, while improvements to the online session flow allows for a much smoother experience.

We’ve also introduced a License Points system that encourages cleaner racing and helps maintain a fair competitive structure in Ranked Online events.

Additional updates include:

• Backend support for incident reporting.

• Improved scheduling for Ranked and Social events.

• From 1 April onwards, all car classes available in Ranked Online.

Together, these systems are designed to make online racing more dependable, structured, and rewarding.

Career Mode has also sees significant changes in Update 2.0 which improves both the structure and the presentation of this mode.

The aim here was to alter the experience from a loose series of meaningless events into a clearer motorsport journey.

To achieve that, players now progress through a championship ladder with the ultimate goal of winning 15 titles. And of course, surviving.

Real-world sponsors such as Liqui Moly also now appear within the game’s sponsorship system. While rewritten event messaging, new podium celebrations, improved progression, and new Race Engineer and Spotter voice lines have been added.

Additionally, for a future update, Career-specific voice-over for the Race Engineer that helps create a stronger sense of momentum and engagement throughout a player’s career will be added in a future update.

Completing the full championship path doesn’t simply end the experience either. It opens new possibilities within the game tied around the introduction of championship trophies.

Career Mode now more closely reflects what we always envisioned: building a legacy through competition, survival, and management.

Beyond gameplay improvements, Update 2.0 also includes a wide range of visual and technical upgrades.

Lighting has been improved to enhance the atmosphere of race weekends, while performance and stability improvements help ensure a smoother experience during longer races and online events.

Many of these changes happen behind the scenes, but they play a critical role in strengthening the technical foundation of the simulation.

Update 2.0 marks an important milestone for Project Motor Racing, but it’s not anywhere near the final destination.

The early months after launch gave us invaluable insight into how players experience simulation and where it could improve. Many of the changes in this update come directly from that process of listening, testing, and refining.

Moving forward, our focus remains the same: continue developing the sim alongside the community and keep improving the experience with every update, and, in addition, work continues in bringing much-desired components to the sim — we're always listening and taking note of community feedback.

To everyone who has been part of that journey so far — Thank you. You are guiding us to be better.

And for those looking for the right moment to step onto the grid, Update 2.0 is a great place to start.

We’ll see you on the grid.