There are plenty of things about modern gaming that kind of suck, but others that are wonderful. Take modding, for example. It’s been a thing ever since video games arrived on personal computers. But it’s only recently that fans have been able to crack open Gran Turismo 2 and add dozens of cars that weren’t in the game to begin with. That’s exactly what the Project A-Spec mod is about, and while it’s been out for the public since the beginning of 2024, an update’s on the way that’s bringing even more oddities to GT2’s roster—including cars this ’90s kid hadn’t ever heard of before.
The update’s new content is detailed in a recent video by YouTuber The Real Emile, embedded below. We don’t have a full list of vehicles yet—at the time the video was published, the A-Spec team was still adding cars, and the release date is still unclear. But the video spends about a half hour alone just detailing roughly 50 new inclusions, one by one. The aim of Project A-Spec is a period-correct roster, so naturally, there isn’t anything on offer here that didn’t exist in some form or fashion before 2000.
Still, GT2 has always been renowned for its broader historical scope of car culture, years before that was expected of racing sims. So A-Spec version 1.2 adds stuff like the Ferrari 355 F1 and associated Japanese Grand Touring Car race versions of it, but also the Fiat 124 Berlina, Nissan R383 Group 7 prototype, and most of the ’99 Formula 1 field. It’s an inspired list, and there’s something for everyone here. Need for Speed II fanatic that I am, I was most excited to see the Lamborghini Calà and BMW Nazca C2, concepts both styled by Italdesign, join the roster. Even the GM EV1 and Honda Insight have been added to the game, which entirely fits because GT2 already had the first-gen Toyota Prius.
That’s probably my favorite thing about this mod. Sure, there are entirely new classes of vehicles here, like the aforementioned F1 cars (including one really cool Honda 1999 test chassis, before the automaker joined the championship). But I’m most excited about the fleshing out of GT2’s existing categories that were perhaps underserved, either because Polyphony Digital couldn’t get all the necessary licenses or simply had too much else to do. The Calà, for example, could never be in the game before, as Gran Turismo didn’t get Lamborghini’s endorsement until GT5 dropped. Now, the Jaguar XJ220 can finally take on its one true rival.
Something else that’s encouraging about this update is the improved quality of the car models. While I’m not going to chide modders adding a truckload of free content for not being the finest 3D artists in the world, there were certainly some cars in the initial Project A-Spec release that could’ve benefited from more time in the oven. The models coming in 1.2, though, look appreciably nicer across the board and blend in better with Polyphony-built cars from the vanilla game. And of course, in typical classic Gran Turismo fashion, every new car gets its proper logo to match in the showroom. Really miss that touch from the older installments.
There’s just so much to explore here. I wasn’t even aware of the Vector W2—the concept that predated the production Vector W8 by 12 years. Or Tom Walkinshaw’s one-off Aston Martin DB7 commissioned with a Jaguar V12 and a bespoke body kit, years before Aston sold them with its own 12-cylinder engine. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen GM’s CERV III prototype or the Lotec C1000 in any video game, either. On the other hand, the 10th-gen Ford F-150 Lightning is very much a known quantity, and plenty of fans will be pumped to see it in GT2. I haven’t messed around with Project A-Spec yet, but I definitely plan on changing that soon.
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