My first foray into Project Motor Racing back in November 2025 was… rocky, to say the least. The game showed genuine promise and ambition, but it felt undercooked in almost every possible way.
More than six months on, and with a steady stream of patches ranging from minor fixes to genuine overhauls, I was keen to jump back in. Conveniently, the arrival of the new GT Icons Pack provided the perfect excuse to see where Project Motor Racing sits today.
GT Racing’s Greatest Hits
The headline attraction of the GT Icons DLC is a collection of nine historic race cars spanning the 1960s and 1970s. The selection is genuinely excellent — each is a fascinating piece of motorsport history.
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The standout for me has to be the Chaparral 2F: one of the most wonderfully eccentric racing cars ever created. Emerging during the formative years of aerodynamic experimentation, it features a rear wing mounted literally metres above the car. And it is driver-adjustable to boot, with a whole pedal dedicated to hydraulically switching between high-downforce and low-drag modes. Oh, and it has a three-speed gearbox. All told, it’s one incredibly unique racing car. In fact, I can’t think of another racing game that’s boasted the Chaparral 2F.
The rest of the roster is delightful too, including the gorgeous 1965 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight, the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 and the 1973 Chevrolet Corvette C3. Split across three distinct classes, the collection feels like a love letter to different eras of GT racing.
I literally wouldn’t have a clue whether the cars in the DLC roster feel authentic. But, what I can say is that they feel absolutely alive. They’re loud, brutish, demanding and packed with personality. Quite the handful to drive, I might add — particularly on a controller.
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The DLC also includes a new track, Rocky Knoll Raceway — Road America in all but name. No complaints here. It’s a fantastic circuit, and a perfect fit for the cars on offer.
A Slightly Smoother Ride on a Still Very Rough Road
Fantastic DLC aside, the additional good news is that Project Motor Racing itself is in noticeably better shape than it was at launch. The user interface has received a substantial overhaul and is far cleaner and more intuitive than before, while the career mode has also been streamlined.
More importantly, the driving experience is improved. The revised tyre model delivers much clearer communication through the car, with grip levels and traction loss feeling more natural and predictable than they did at release. Across a range of classes, I found the handling noticeably more convincing and enjoyable.
The bad news is that technical performance remains a big, big challenge. My PC isn’t exactly a powerhouse, but it’s more than capable of handling punchy AAA titles provided I’m sensible with the settings. Yet I still struggled to find anything approaching consistent performance in Project Motor Racing. Even with the graphics dialled back, framerates were almost always poor, accompanied by a raft of other visual oddities.
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Plus, my hopes of taking the game portable on my Xbox Ally X failed to materialise. I tried, oh so hard, but I simply couldn’t achieve what I’d consider a playable experience.
Final Thoughts
If you already own and enjoy Project Motor Racing, the GT Icons Pack is very easy to recommend. At A$24.95, it isn’t an insignificant ask for nine cars and a single circuit. But the quality of the content speaks for itself: an exceptional roster packed with character and genuinely unique experiences that are difficult to find elsewhere in the genre.
Just be aware that while Project Motor Racing has undoubtedly improved since launch, the technical issues that originally held it back haven’t disappeared entirely. The foundations are heading in the direction of the ambition, but you’ll still need some serious hardware to experience the game at its best.
The GT Icons Pack is available now for Project Motor Racing on Xbox X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.
The GT Icons pack was supplied to Quest Daily by the publisher.
