- For other similarly named events in the series, see Gran Turismo World Championship.
- "Destined to win. This is the peak that the world's race cars aspire to."
- ―In-game description
The Gran Turismo World Championship is a 10-race series in the Professional League of Gran Turismo 4. The event is not available until the player has completed all previous races in the Beginner and Professional Events hall.
Races[]
| # | Circuit | Number of Laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo R246 | 10 laps |
| 2 | Twin Ring Motegi Super Speedway | 21 laps |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 18 laps |
| 4 | Seoul Central Reverse | 19 laps |
| 5 | El Capitan | 11 laps |
| 6 | New York | 15 laps |
| 7 | Opera Paris Reverse | 18 laps |
| 8 | Suzuka Circuit | 9 laps |
| 9 | Grand Valley Speedway Reverse | 11 laps |
| 10 | Circuit de la Sarthe 1 | 4 laps |
Opponents[]
| Car | Power (HP) | Weight (kg) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi R8 Race Car '01 | 783 | 900 | |
| Bentley Speed 8 '03 | 785 | 900 | |
| BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 | 602 | 950 | |
| BMW V12 LMR '99 | 787 | 900 | |
| Chaparral 2D '67 | 420 | 821 | International versions only |
| Chaparral 2J '70 | 683 | 821 | International versions only |
| Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car | 592 | 1160 | |
| Ford GT LM Race Car | 606 | 1140 | |
| Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 | 888 | 780 | |
| Jaguar XJR-9 '88 | 914 | 894 | International versions only |
| Mazda 787B '91 | 791 | 830 | |
| Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM '98 | 785 | 1000 | |
| MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V '89 | 906 | 850 | |
| Nissan R89C '89 | 908 | 900 | |
| Nissan R92CP '92 | 938 | 900 | |
| Nissan R390 GT1 '98 | 789 | 1000 | |
| Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot Race Car '03 | 789 | 900 | |
| Peugeot 905B Evo 1 Bis LM '92 | 798 | 750 | International versions only |
| PlayStation Pescarolo C60/Judd Race Car '04 | 793 | 900 | |
| Sauber Mercedes C9 '89 | 927 | 893 | |
| Toyota 7 '70 | 788 | 620 | |
| Toyota GT-One (TS020) '99 | 764 | 900 |
Strategy[]
Gran Turismo World Championship (GTWC) is a notorious difficulty spike in Gran Turismo 4's progression, as it combines multiple challenges that the player is unlikely to have faced up to that point. It consists of 10 long races on both flat race tracks and bumpy city tracks, and pit strategy is required to win consistently. To be competitive, you'll also need to drive an LMP/Group C car with 800hp+ and 63 / 88 downforce. The game doesn't prepare you for this event, and you'll need to ensure that you have a suitable car before entering.
Here are the primary ways to obtain a competitive car for GTWC:
- Reach 25% completion, then enter and win El Capitan 200 Miles to win the MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V '89. This is one of the best race cars in the game, as it's relatively light, has over 900hp stock, and has high rear grip. Furthermore, the endurance is very easy and can be beaten with either A-spec or B-spec using a medium-powered sports car.
- Save up at least 1,224,990 credits, wait until day 694, then buy one of the Black Cars from the Early-90's used car dealership. The two cheapest options are the Mazda 787B '91 and the Nissan R92CP '92. Both of these cars are good choices for GTWC, though the R92CP is considerably faster as it has over 900hp. The 787B has less power, but weighs less and has slightly less tyre wear. The Nissan R390 GT1 '98 and Toyota GT-One (TS020) '99 are also available for 2,924,999 credits from the Late-90's used car dealership. While they're both competitive, the 787B and R92CP are better options, both in terms of value and performance. The GT-One has the lowest wind drag of all race cars and is capable of extremely high top speeds, but it also has relatively fast front tyre wear. The R390 GT1 is much heavier than the other options and wears its tyres quickly, and also requires tuning to be competitive as its downforce isn't maxed out by default.
- It's extremely important that you buy the "Rigidity Refresher Plan" from the Tune Shop as soon as you buy any of the Black Cars. They have full rigidity wear when bought due to their high mileage, which greatly reduces their stability at high speeds. Only buy the refresh, and do not buy the "Increase Rigidity" option, as it does the opposite of what it says it does and decreases the car's stability. Remember to change the oil as well.
- The Nissan R92CP can also be obtained from Fuji 1000 km as a new car with zero engine or rigidity wear. However, it's quite difficult to beat without already owning an LMP/Group C car.
- Save up at least 4,500,000 credits, then buy any new LMP/Group C car of your choice from its respective dealer. The best all-rounder is the Audi R8 Race Car '01: it has the tied-best grip of all non-F1 race cars, it can get over 900hp with a stage 3 turbo and an oil change, and it's relatively easy on tyres. The Bentley Speed 8 '03, BMW V12 LMR '99 and Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo-Courage - Judd GV5 '04 are also competitive choices
- The Audi R8 and Bentley Speed 8 can also be won from Sarthe Circuit 24 Hours I and Sarthe Circuit 24 Hours II respectively. However, these are 24-hour long events that also require an LMP/Group C car to be competitive.
- Reach 50% completion to obtain the Jaguar XJR-9 '88 (this is only possible in the international versions of the game). While it's very capable of winning all 10 races of GTWC, it's one of the weakest LMP's/Group C's due to having relatively low grip and narrow tyres.
- Complete missions 30-34 to obtain the Nissan R89C '89. The R89C has similar performance to the R92CP, with better stability and rear grip at the cost of faster front tyre wear.
If you want to quickly accumulate credits, the best method is grinding German Touring Car Championship using B-spec. This championship awards the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98, which is worth 743,749 credits when sold. By obtaining the Mercedes-Benz CLK Touring Car '00 from Legends of the Silver Arrow and equipping it with a stage 4 turbo, you can use B-spec to win the championship at 3x speed, obtaining as many CLK-GTR's as needed.
Once you've obtained your car of choice, you'll need to make some extra adjustments to ensure it runs at optimal performance:
- Change the oil. This will give a 5% power boost for the next 200km / 126 miles.
- You can also change the oil mid-championship by exiting before a race and going to GT Auto.
- If the car has a stage 3 turbo upgrade available, purchase it. This will usually give an increase of 80-100hp without much sacrifice. Avoid the stage 4 turbo, as it increases rear tyre wear to a ridiculous degree and reduces torque at low- and mid-RPM's, causing worse acceleration on city tracks.
- Purchase hard racing tyres, then in the car settings menu, equip medium tyres on front and hard tyres on rear. Most LMP's/Group C's wear their rear tyres quickly due to having such high power, and this tyre setup allows them to drive more laps before needing to pit. While rear grip and traction will be reduced, this can be mitigated by making adjustments elsewhere.
- If the car has been driven for at least 1,000km / 620 miles, buying the "Rigidity Refresher Plan" from the Tune Shop will improve the car's stability at high speeds. This is especially important on the Mulsanne straight on Circuit de la Sarthe, where cars with high rigidity wear have a tendency to spin out while making slight turns. Do not buy the "Increase Rigidity" option; it does the opposite of what it says it does, amplifying the car's rigidity wear and reducing stability.
- In the Driving Aids section of the car settings menu, set ASM Understeer and Oversteer to 0, then lower TCS to 1 or lower. ASM greatly reduces the car's speed in corners, and should always be set to 0 for the fastest lap times. TCS prevents wheelspin, which is extremely useful for cars with over 900hp, but the default setting of 5 has a tendency to reduce the car's overall acceleration and can be safely lowered to 1.
- Ensure that the downforce is maxed out on both sides. For an LMP/Group C car, this will be 63 / 88. Rear downforce should be maxed out at all times to guarantee the best cornering stability. Front downforce can be lowered slightly to further improve stability, at the cost of understeer and increased braking distances.
- In the gear menu, apply the following changes, in this exact order:
- Move the Final slider all the way right.
- Move the Auto slider to 1.
- Move the Final slider all the way left.
- Move 1st and 2nd gear's sliders all the way left.
- Move 4th gear's slider slightly to the right, so it overlaps the third white line.
- Move 5th and 6th gear's sliders all the way right.
- Do not touch the Auto slider after this, or the sliders will reset and you'll need to start from the beginning.
- This setup is known as the gear trick, and it benefits the car in two ways: it lengthens 1st and 2nd gear so rear tyre wear is greatly reduced on tracks with sharp corners like Hong Kong and Opera Paris, and it reduces the RPM drop between gears from 3rd gear onwards, improving acceleration at high speeds.
- In the suspension settings, raise the height to 95 on both sides, set the bounds to 2 and rebounds to 5 on both sides, increase the rear camber to 1.8, and set the rear stabiliser to 7. These will make the car feel more balanced on city tracks and less prone to both understeer and snap oversteer while entering corners.
- In the limited-slip differential (LSD) settings, set Initial Torque to 30, LSD Acceleration to 60, and LSD Deceleration to 55. These will increase the car's stability both while entering and exiting corners by reducing the likelihood of wheelspin, and will especially improve the car's balance when hard tyres are equipped on rear.
- In the brake balance settings, set the front brake balance to 5 and the rear to 2. This will reduce the chance of the car snap oversteering while braking into corners.
Once you've made these changes, be sure to practice driving the car so you can learn how it handles. If the car feels too unstable in corners, raise the camber by 0.2 on both sides, or lower the front downforce by 2. If the car feels uncontrollable while exiting corners, raise TCS by 1. Try to avoid accelerating or braking mid-corner, as this will greatly increase tyre wear. To preserve your car's tyres, try to brake in a straight line while entering corners, then wait until you've exited the corner before flooring it. Driving in MT and keeping the car in a high gear while exiting sharp corners will also reduce rear tyre wear.
GTWC's difficulty can be manipulated by resetting for an ideal line-up. By entering the championship, checking the line-up, then abandoning the championship, you can cycle through line-ups until you find one that you'd like to compete against. Here are some ideal scenarios:
- The line-up has at least two 'powerful' LMP's/Group C's (R89C, R92CP, Minolta 88C-V, Sauber C-9) and at least two LMP's that are easy on tyres (905, V12 LMR, Pescarolo Judd/Courage, R8, Speed 8). The latter group will be unlikely to pit for some races and will beat the former group due to pit strategy, but in the races where both groups pit, the former group will win. This causes the points to be evenly distributed as the championship progresses, making it easy to build a points lead, even if you don't finish 1st in every race.
- The line-up doesn't have any of the aforementioned cars. With enough resets, it's possible to find a line-up without any LMP's/Group C's. This is especially useful if you want to compete using a car with less than 63 / 88 downforce.
GTWC differs between regions due to physics differences. Because PAL runs at 50 FPS while NTSC runs at 60 FPS, the game has less physics calculations per second. This causes strange behaviour when racing tyres are equipped, and the car's tyres will wear 2-3 laps faster on average. As well, the AI is considerably slower and easier to beat on PAL, especially as the AI will usually be forced to pit every race, regardless of which car they use.
In races with a rolling start (particularly Hong Kong, Opera Paris and Sarthe), you can enter Practice to set a qualifying time and secure pole position. This will greatly reduce the difficulty of these races, as you won't need to spend any time fighting through traffic at the start.
Prizes[]
Prizes for each individual race are as follows:
- 1st: Cr. 25,000
- 2nd: Cr. 7,500
- 3rd: Cr. 5,000
- 4th: Cr. 4,000
- 5th: Cr. 1,500
- 6th: Cr. 800
Victory in the championship rewards the player with Cr. 250,000 and the following prize car:
The completion of the championship also unlocks the ending movie as well as the Extreme Events hall.