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Super GT Japanese Grand Touring Series organized by JAF; inluding JGTC, and JTCC
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Old 04-28-2006, 01:48 PM   #1
Jay!
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What JTCC Honda Prelude did Gran Turismo copy?

Back in 1998, the original Gran Turismo was released. All the cars were licensed from the manufacturers, but it seems like they had trouble with rights to sponsor logos (except Castrol!). So, as I figured out later, when I learned a lot more about '90s Japanese touring car racing, is that most of the "race modification" livery schemes were based on real-life race cars, just with the logos turned to gibberish.

So, to get to the point, This is the race livery for the '94 Prelude VTEC.


Lo-fi video capture of same car:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qZlg6Q8U-2Y

I've had killer times trying to research old race cars unless they happen to be winners at high-profile events. But, just because GIS doesn't return anything doesn't mean it's not out there...

I did some research on JTCC race results (no pics ) stored by the Japan Automobile Federation, and found that there were at least four BB4 Preludes running in 1993 and 1994. At this point I can't really tell which is which, or if teams switched up between seasons, but here's what I've seen so far:
  • PIAA プレリュード VTEC ("PIAA Prelude VTEC" - I actually found a TINY picture of this!)
  • ギャザズ FALKEN プレリュー ("Gathers FALKEN Prelude")
  • セキショウレーシング プレリュ ("SEKISHOU Racing Prelude")
  • コカコーラ プレリュード ("Coca-Cola Prelude")
(Japanese text, if your browser supports it, plus the translations I've figured so far.)

I've convinced myself that the spoiler must be a throwaway clue. Remember again, this is 1997 on the PS1, and I'm sure they were limited in the memory resources. In-game, that wing is obviously just 3 simple polygons. At best, it could only be a vague representation of what was on the car. It also really bugs me that the attachment points seem to be wider than the trunk lid, which would trap the trunk shut. Not likely.

So far my best lead is something BA5 posted on Honda-Tech.net: A SCCA Production-class driver is sporting a BB4 Prelude with a VERY similar scheme:


That livery is too close to not be related, but the dates are the issue now. I can only trace Lawrence Loshak using a Prelude back to about 2001, which is 4 years after it appeared in Gran Turismo.

My next step is to try and contact him directly, and see if he can give me any more info...

Let me know if any of you guys have seen anything else like this. I'd love to know more info about the original car.

Thanks!
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