March 3, 2026 press releases from Kia America confirm the momentum: **February sales hit 66,005 units**, up **4%** year-over-year from February 2025's 63,303. This marks a **new February record**, extending Kia's streak of monthly highs after a record-breaking 2025 (852,155 annual units) and strong January 2026 (64,502, up 13%). Hybrids delivered the biggest surge—**best-ever February** for the segment, up **53%** YoY—while seven models posted gains: Telluride (+37%, all-time monthly high at 13,198), Carnival (+31%), K5 (+21%), Niro (+20%), Seltos (+14%), Sportage (+6%), and K4 (+3%). Carnival, Sportage, and K4 each notched best-ever Februarys, with Sportage leading volume at ~13,901 units. Hyundai Motor America mirrored the strength with **65,677 units** (+6% YoY), a February record driven by SUVs ( Tucson , Santa Fe) and electrified vehicles (hybrids +79%, EVs +6%). Combined Hyundai-Kia group sales remain powerhouse, but Kia edged Hyundai for the **second straight mont...
As of late 2025, Gran Turismo 7 (GT7) has matured into the ultimate automotive sandbox. It successfully merges the structured "Groups" of GT Sport with a revived Performance Points (PP) system, which provides granular control over vehicle classes for both casual single-player campaigns and competitive online play. This "hybrid" approach offers the deepest classification system in the franchise's history.
The Racing Class Ecosystem in 2025
GT7 operates a dual-classification system: the qualitative Gr. Groups for purpose-built race cars and the quantitative N-Series for road cars.N-Series Road Cars: These are standard production cars categorized by their power output in metric horsepower (PS), ranging from N100 (Kei cars) up to N1000 (hypercars). This is the foundation of the single-player campaign progression via the "Cafe" menus.
Group 2 (Gr.2): This class has seen a resurgence, dominated by the highly technical Super GT (GT500) machines, offering a bridge between amateur GT3 racing and top-tier prototypes.
Gr.3 & Gr.4: These remain the core competitive online classes, utilizing the mandatory BoP system to level the playing field, making driver skill paramount.
Performance Points (PP): This numerical value represents a car's overall performance, factoring in weight, power, tires, and aerodynamics. It is the primary limiting factor in single-player events. The system, while sometimes exploited by tuners to gain an advantage, allows immense freedom for players to modify a car and push its boundaries right up to a given limit.
Achievements, Milestones, and the Nuance of Tuning
In 2025, the series officially surpassed 100 million units sold. A key technical milestone in GT7 is the sophisticated BoP 2.0 system, which automatically adjusts power and weight based on track type (high-speed vs. technical). This ensures that no single car remains dominant on all tracks within a class.
The Engineering of Speed: Tuning, Weight, and Aero
In GT7, the pursuit of performance involves several key engineering principles:Weight Reduction: The game features five stages of weight reduction. While Stage 5 might only reduce 30kg, the total effect across all stages is significant. Reducing weight affects inertia, making cars more responsive in corners and under acceleration. However, as engineers know, removing too much weight can reduce total downforce and make a car less stable at high speeds if the suspension isn't perfectly tuned.
Aerodynamics: Unlike GT1's simple sliders, GT7 models the effect of diffusers, flat floors, and complex wing profiles. The "who" behind the optimal aero is the vast GTPlanet tuning community, who share specific data on how a high rear wing angle affects drag on the Daytona oval versus downforce at the tight corners of the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Engine Swaps: A late-game feature, engine swapping allows a player to put a powerful engine into a light chassis (e.g., a GT500 engine into a humble Mazda 3 hatchback), completely blurring the N-Series classification and creating unique, powerful "sleeper" cars that challenge the Gr.3 performance index.
At the Steering Wheel: Takuma Miyazono's Strategy
A legend in the GT7 community, Takuma Miyazono is renowned for his strategic use of fuel maps and tire management within the Gr.3 class. His 2020 and 2024 World Series wins demonstrated that in GT7, a "class win" requires more than just raw speed—it requires an intimate understanding of the game's complex physics and pit strategy.
Miyazono's influence led to a community-wide focus on fuel-saving techniques as a core skill, proving that race management is as important as raw pace in the current classification system. The GT7 player base is highly analytical, constantly debating the merits of adding ballast for weight distribution versus overall weight reduction to find the fastest setup for a given PP limit.Community Hub: Stay updated with the GTPlanet GT7 Forums for the latest 2025 car tunings and strategies.
The Racing Class Ecosystem in 2025
GT7 operates a dual-classification system: the qualitative Gr. Groups for purpose-built race cars and the quantitative N-Series for road cars.N-Series Road Cars: These are standard production cars categorized by their power output in metric horsepower (PS), ranging from N100 (Kei cars) up to N1000 (hypercars). This is the foundation of the single-player campaign progression via the "Cafe" menus.
Group 2 (Gr.2): This class has seen a resurgence, dominated by the highly technical Super GT (GT500) machines, offering a bridge between amateur GT3 racing and top-tier prototypes.
Gr.3 & Gr.4: These remain the core competitive online classes, utilizing the mandatory BoP system to level the playing field, making driver skill paramount.
Performance Points (PP): This numerical value represents a car's overall performance, factoring in weight, power, tires, and aerodynamics. It is the primary limiting factor in single-player events. The system, while sometimes exploited by tuners to gain an advantage, allows immense freedom for players to modify a car and push its boundaries right up to a given limit.
Achievements, Milestones, and the Nuance of Tuning
In 2025, the series officially surpassed 100 million units sold. A key technical milestone in GT7 is the sophisticated BoP 2.0 system, which automatically adjusts power and weight based on track type (high-speed vs. technical). This ensures that no single car remains dominant on all tracks within a class.
The Engineering of Speed: Tuning, Weight, and Aero
In GT7, the pursuit of performance involves several key engineering principles:Weight Reduction: The game features five stages of weight reduction. While Stage 5 might only reduce 30kg, the total effect across all stages is significant. Reducing weight affects inertia, making cars more responsive in corners and under acceleration. However, as engineers know, removing too much weight can reduce total downforce and make a car less stable at high speeds if the suspension isn't perfectly tuned.
Aerodynamics: Unlike GT1's simple sliders, GT7 models the effect of diffusers, flat floors, and complex wing profiles. The "who" behind the optimal aero is the vast GTPlanet tuning community, who share specific data on how a high rear wing angle affects drag on the Daytona oval versus downforce at the tight corners of the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Engine Swaps: A late-game feature, engine swapping allows a player to put a powerful engine into a light chassis (e.g., a GT500 engine into a humble Mazda 3 hatchback), completely blurring the N-Series classification and creating unique, powerful "sleeper" cars that challenge the Gr.3 performance index.
At the Steering Wheel: Takuma Miyazono's Strategy
A legend in the GT7 community, Takuma Miyazono is renowned for his strategic use of fuel maps and tire management within the Gr.3 class. His 2020 and 2024 World Series wins demonstrated that in GT7, a "class win" requires more than just raw speed—it requires an intimate understanding of the game's complex physics and pit strategy.
Miyazono's influence led to a community-wide focus on fuel-saving techniques as a core skill, proving that race management is as important as raw pace in the current classification system. The GT7 player base is highly analytical, constantly debating the merits of adding ballast for weight distribution versus overall weight reduction to find the fastest setup for a given PP limit.Community Hub: Stay updated with the GTPlanet GT7 Forums for the latest 2025 car tunings and strategies.
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