GTI Club


GTI Club is a racing game originally released for the arcades in 1996 by Konami, on their new Cobra arcade board, which uses PowerPC-based hardware. In the original, the player raced around the Côte d'Azur and could choose from 5 rally cars including a Mini Cooper and Renault 5 Alpine Turbo. The game allowed free-roaming of the environment, which was revolutionary for the time, and contained several semi-hidden shortcuts that could be used to reduce lap times. A handbrake is provided which the player is encouraged to use to perform handbrake turns round sharp corners.

Series

''GTI Club: Rally Côte d'Azur'' (Arcade, September 1996)

''GTI Club: Corso Italiano'' (Arcade, July 2000)

The first sequel was released in 2000, it was published overseas in 2001 as GTI Club 2 and Driving Party. The action moves from France to Italy with Town, Coast and Mountain courses, hence the title. It features eight unlicensed cars resembling the likes of Morris Mini and Bugatti EB110 plus a selection of new cars including the Fiat 500, Lotus Seven, AC Cobra, Volkswagen Beetle, Nissan Fairlady Z and Alfa Romeo Giulia.

''GTI Club: Supermini Festa!'' (Arcade, December 2008)

In December 2008, Konami released the third episode in Japan with the original "France Course" and "Italy Course" plus two additional circuits and twelve cars. GTI Club ワールドシティレース was later released for the Wii and PlayStation Portable in February 2010 in Japan and in March 2010 in North America.

''GTI Club+: Rally Côte d'Azur'' (PlayStation 3, December 2008)

, an HD port of original GTI Club, has been released for the PlayStation Network. The port was developed by British studio Sumo Digital and published by Konami. The game features a number of improvements over the original game, including enhanced graphics and sound, eight player online multiplayer, new modes and compatibility with the PlayStation Eye. As of 2012, it is no longer available for purchase due to license expiration.

Arcade hardware description