Menu Books 1-4

Master Gran Turismo 7's early game with our guide to Menu Books 1-4. Learn car acquisition, race strategies, and unlocks for the GT Cafe.

Once the game is fully installed, you can enter the World Map. Choose a nickname and a difficulty level (the latter is new to the 'GT mode' in GT7), and then you'll be greeted by Sarah, whom after some exposition will steer you towards the used car dealership. With the starting 20,000 credits you have, you're guaranteed at least these three options;

Car	Power	Weight	PP	Cost (used)
Honda Fit Hybrid '14	138 BHP	1,080 kg	345.70	Cr 13,000
Mazda Demio XD '15	103 BHP	1,080 kg	334.99	Cr 12,500
Toyota Aqua S '11	109 BHP	1,080 kg	354.12	Cr 14,300

Other cars may be available to you depending on the current used car rotation. PP stands for performance points, and whilst it's not an exact measurement, more performance points is usually better. The Fit and Aqua are both hybrids*, but whilst the Fit's quoted power output includes the electric motor, the Aqua excludes it, so the two cars have similar acceleration in practice. Either car is a sound choice, whilst the Demio lags behind.

*A hybrid car utilizes both petrol and electric motors, typically utilizing energy recovery technology to charge up the electric motor, which can then deploy to improve performance or fuel economy.

Your next stop is the GT Cafe, where you'll be introduced to Luca who will in turn introduce you to the menu book system that forms the 'linear' portion of GT7. Complete these menu books to unlock new circuits and game modes.

Menu Book 1: Japanese Compact Cars

Acquire three cars: Toyota Aqua S '11, Honda Fit Hybrid '14, Mazda Demio XD '15. Clear reward: 1 star roulette ticket.

Corresponding series: Sunday Cup, no PP limit (suggested 380), road cars.

Track	# of laps	Prize (cash)	Prize (car)
Broad Bean Raceway	2	Cr 5,000	Toyota Aqua
Lago Maggoire Centre	2	Cr 5,000	Honda Fit
Northern Isle Speeday	5	Cr 5,000	Mazda Demio

Whilst you can choose to simply buy the cars you need using credits saved or earned in other modes, this guide will assume you take the route of obtaining menu book cars through their corresponding races. The maximum listed cash reward is for coming 1st, whilst the prize car can be won with any finish 3rd or higher. It's worth doing all 3 races each time even if you don't need to, as otherwise you'll lose out on any unclaimed prize cars once you clear the menu book, and winning a car you already own still increases your collector level.

It's possible to win races with less PP than what the game suggests, which is a relief in this case as none of the three 'starter' options reach the 380 PP threshold and you haven't unlocked the tuning shop yet. These three courses are short and simple, with Northern Isle in particular being a banked oval where you'll hardly need to brake.

Menu Book 2: Test yourself at the Licence Centre

Complete licence B-1: Starting & Stopping 1. Clear reward: unlock Goodwood and Brands Hatch.

Licence tests ask you to complete a certain sector or lap within a time limit, with an additional incentive if you can beat all of the gold times. As usual for B-1 tests in Gran Turismo, this test involves stopping in the designated area, and this time you're assisted by cones on the side of the track which mark the best place to brake for a gold prize. Once you've passed the test, you can choose to do the rest of the B licence or move on to the next menu book. You'll be coming back here later either way.

Menu Book 3: European Classic Compacts

Acquire three cars: Fiat 500 F '68, Mini-Cooper 'S' '65, Volkswagen 1200 '66. Clear reward: unlock High Speed Ring and the Tuning Shop, + 1 star roulette ticket.

Corresponding series: Sunday Cup Classic, no PP limit (suggested 350), road cars.

Track	# of laps	Prize (cash)	Prize (car)
Brands Hatch Indy	2	Cr 5,000	Volkswagen 1200
Lago Maggoire Centre	2	Cr 5,000	Fiat 500 F
Goodwood Motor Circuit	2	Cr 5,000	Mini-Cooper S

Since you're not limited to using classic compacts like the AI is, any of the three cars you now own from menu book 1 should be able to win these races. It's also worth noting that completing a race without any major collisions with other cars or walls will award you a 'clean race bonus', which increases your cash reward by 50%. As for the prize cars, you'll be tuning up the Mini in a later menu book.

Menu Book 4: High Speed Ring Track Day

Finish 3rd or higher in the championship. No PP limit (suggested 400), road cars. Clear reward: unlock Tsukaba and Suzuka, + Brand Central car dealership.

	Track	# of Laps
Round 1	High Speed Ring	2
Round 2	High Speed Ring Reverse	2

Cash prize (race win)	Cr 7,000
Cash prize (championship)	Cr 15,000

I recommend going to the tuning shop first to get close to the 400 PP suggestion, because Igor Fraga will show up in a Civic Type R (445 PP). He'll go easy on you, but it's still difficult to catch him in anything you have right now in stock trim. Tyres are a cheap way to boost PP, but as the name suggests, extra power is preferable on this track. Alternatively, you could complete the B licence early and win a Renault Clio. The second race of this series will be in the wet, so as I mentioned in the driving tips section, brake earlier and expect lower cornering speeds.

When you finish 3rd or higher in a championship for the first time, you also get to draw one prize car card out of three. In this case your possibilities are a Honda Civic Type R, Honda Integra Type R, or Suzuki Swift Sport, but it doesn't really matter what you win this time due to the contents of menu book 5...