IFRL Gran Turismo 7 sorts its race cars into groups. The two you will race most in any league are Gr.3 and Gr.4. They look similar in the garage and drive very differently on track. Here is how to tell them apart and which one to start with.
The one-line answer
Gr.4 is the game's version of GT4: slower, heavier-feeling, more forgiving, easier to drive at the limit. Gr.3 is the game's version of GT3: faster, more downforce, more reward and more punishment. New racers should learn in Gr.4. Everyone wants to race Gr.3 eventually.
Gr.4: the place to learn
Gr.4 cars have less power and less aerodynamic grip, which sounds worse and is actually a gift when you are learning. They are harder to spin, more predictable when you push too far, and more patient with a clumsy throttle. You can make a mistake in a Gr.4 car and often catch it. The pace is high enough to be exciting and low enough that a new driver is not constantly fighting the car.
Gr.4 also has more variety in how the cars drive, from nimble mid-engine coupes to planted all-wheel-drive machines, so there is a car that suits almost every style.
Gr.3: the main event
Gr.3 cars are the stars. More power, far more downforce, and cornering speeds that feel unreal the first time. They reward precision: hit the line and the grip is enormous, miss it and the car lets go faster than a Gr.4 would. This is the class most leagues build their championship race around, because a good Gr.3 field produces the closest, most dramatic racing in the game.
The trade is that Gr.3 punishes sloppiness. The same downforce that makes them fast makes them unstable when you overdrive the entry. Learn smoothness in Gr.4 first and Gr.3 becomes a joy rather than a handful.
Why a league runs both
We race Gr.4 and Gr.3 on the same night on purpose. The Gr.4 race, twenty minutes from a shared pool of cars, is the accessible one, closer racing, smaller consequences for a mistake. The Gr.3 main event, thirty minutes with tire wear, fuel, and a mandatory pit stop, is where the championship is decided. Running both gives newer drivers a race they can be competitive in and gives everyone the showpiece Gr.3 spectacle.
If you are choosing where to start: pick a forgiving Gr.4 car, learn to be smooth, and move up to Gr.3 when the Gr.4 car stops surprising you.
The IFRL runs a five-car Gr.4 pool at 675 PP and a five-car Gr.3 pool at 775 PP, rotated through the season. The full pools are in our Garage. New to the terms? See the glossary and PP and BoP explained.