Races

Dive into the ultimate Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec guide. Learn about Arcade and Simulation modes, unlockable Formula One cars, and race strategies to dominate every track. Essential for GT3 players!

Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec offers two distinct modes for players to experience its racing gameplay: Arcade Mode and Simulation Mode. Each mode provides a unique progression and set of challenges.

Arcade Mode is structured into stages, each comprising five to six tracks. To advance to the next stage, players must complete all tracks within the current stage on Easy difficulty or higher. Achieving victory on Normal or Difficult settings unlocks additional cars for play.

Simulation Mode features a more organized and progressive layout of races and challenges, ranging from short beginner events to lengthy endurance races, including dirt rally events. Car dealerships are now categorized by country and then by manufacturer, offering a more intuitive system than previous titles. However, the total number of vehicles available is reduced to 191 compared to Gran Turismo 2's nearly 620, a trade-off for the enhanced graphics and detailed car statistics.

A new addition to the franchise is the availability of Formula One (F1) cars. These cannot be purchased but are unlocked by winning endurance races or specific championship events. The PAL version includes two F1 cars (Polyphony001 and Polyphony002), while NTSC versions feature six (F094/H, F094/S, F686/M, F687/S, F090/S, and F688/S). F1 cars offer superior performance but have faster tire wear, and players cannot equip harder tire compounds to mitigate this.

Notably, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec omits the ability to perform Racing Modifications on production cars, the removal of suspension damage, and the removal of power limits on race events.