Recent months have been a little quiet regarding news on the much anticipated Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, but it looks like 2023 will be a different story. The team behind the upcoming series revival has announced a brand new 'Solar Club Letter' blog series, and the first newsletter is all about the game's car dealerships and workshops.
In total, TDU Solar Crown will feature 14 different car dealerships, with 12 of those containing a selection of vehicles from different manufacturers. Two prestigious names get their own showrooms - Ferrari and Lamborghini.
While these two manufacturers aren't shown off in this introductory blog post, some other vehicles have been showcased for the first time, including the iconic AC Shelby Cobra.
The post shows off a selection of other cars as well, from manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Apollo, Porsche and more. We've not seen much of the game in action at this point, so it's well worth a good browse to see what's coming to the new TDU.
The newsletter also discusses how Solar Crown is carrying over the series' unique take on actually acquiring cars. The TDU games have always tried to make buying your ultimate ride feel like a special experience, and the team at KT racing is hoping to bring forward that sense of fulfilment into Solar Crown. Here's what Alain Jarniou, the game's creative director, has to say on the matter:
"Buying a car in TDU is always a special moment. It's a core part of the game for fans of beautiful cars. In TDUSC we have created special places that showcase our cars. You'll discover them in real locations throughout Hong Kong Island as you progress and level up in the game.
You can move around freely within the dealership, interact with the cars to choose the model you want, admire the exterior in detail, and get inside after opening the door to appreciate the comfort, try out the horn, and even start the engine, which is not always possible in real life!
Before making your final choice, you can obviously test drive the car to make sure the handling and drive meet your expectations."
It's all sounding very faithful to the first two Test Drive Unlimited games, and we won't lie, we're really keen to see some extended gameplay of this upcoming open world racer. For now we must be patient, but the team says that it will be "sharing more exclusive information about the game and gameplay every month".