









This vehicle will be free for everyone as the level 50 Solar Pass reward!
Stay tuned because over the next days we'll be showing not only what's coming in Season 7, but Season 7's mid-season update and Season 8's houses in the next Nacon Racing showcase!
We want to show you the work we've done so far on both of these subjects! We're excited, and we hope you soon are too! See you later this week!
p.s -> we've heard your mentioned of wanting a BOV noise and louder turbo's when upgrading your cars in Season 7 (news from the R34 gameplay we teased). We'll try working on this before the season launches for all of the JDM vehicles! ;)
☀️ August is here!
Season 7 arrives September 2 and there'll be a Nacon Racing showcase this month for everything coming in S7, and also a progress update on our house update which is Season 8!
See you soon! 👋
There’ll be a maintenance today to fix the following in Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown:
The servers maintenance will start at 9AM CET (France Time)(as in right now) and end before 2PM CET (France Time). We apologize for the inconvenience.
SERVERS ARE NOW BACK ONLINE AS OF 12PM CET!
Timestamp & Product Pictures - Imgur
Selling my brand new/never used Logitech G502 'X Year Edition' (Logitech G502 X Plus 10th anniversary edition) which is limited and numbered as 225/502 in the Black/Aluminium Colour. All images are attatched in the imgur link above. Opened just to take pictures, never used. Only 502 made.
Asking $600USD OBO. Shipping to outside of EU can be discussed.
Comment/PM me if you're interested.
We are getting closer to the release of Season 7! In today’s letter we’ll have some details on a new Season 7 vehicle, and more importantly some changes and improvements to the Online Store and the release dates regarding Season 7 in general and the ORC. Let’s discuss this in more detail.
An exclusive Mercedes-Benz style livery is up for grabs in this week's live event which will be ending on July 1, 2026 at 11am CET. Win 100,000 Solar Coins and the ‘No Matter What – Dark’ livery for the vehicle which features the unique start design that the Mercedes-Benz AMG’s feature. Don’t miss this one!
Today we’re going to discuss some of the things our developers are working on behind the scenes.
Car Reveal
Not to be confused with the car tease audio in the Discord, the Nissan GT-R R34 Skyline V-Spec II will arrive in Season 7 of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown as the level 15 reward for the Solar Pass! This car will also have the possibility of removing the wing in the workshop, and we have a special livery with this car too that can be earned in the Solar Pass… but we’ll show that later. For now, enjoy this photoshoot!
We also want to let you know that we have shuffled some vehicles that arrive in Season 7. Previously, we showcased an image of what looks to be a wagon/estate vehicle under a cover, this vehicle will now end up in Season 8, meaning that the previous JDM vehicle that was moved out from Season 7 is now back in Season 7. Here’s what you can expect with the car list:
Maybe we’ll tease another JDM vehicle later on in this letter, but here’s everything you can expect for Season 7!
Online Store Changes
In Season 7, we’ll also be making some changes to the Online Store. One of the most important and highly requested ones is the ability to purchase vehicles as standalone from the bundles. We can confirm that day one of Season 7, you’ll have the ability to purchase all items within a bundle individually.
Next, we’re removing the concept of FOMO from the store. First, we are removing the FOMO from the exclusive items in the Online Store excluding Solar Pass items (which will remain unavailable to players who didn't get the pass during the next season (eg. S5 Solar Pass items available in S7 Store)). Now, the previous exclusive items and bundles of the last seasons from the online store will permanently be available to all players. If new items arrive, they will be added in a cosmetic bundle (without a car) with a theme. You’ll see 3 of these in the mid-season update for Season 7.
The ‘Featured Items’ section will now only feature items on promotion. We think having FOMO on these items and bundles was a bad idea; so players can now find them in the permanent store or on discount in this dedicated section.
We will also be changing the pricing of items within the Online Store. Bundle pricing, the pricing of the Solar Pass, and how Diamond Gifting works, will all be changed. The new pricing for both are shown below:
Though not arriving in Season 7, you can expect to see Diamonds added to the Solar Pass in future seasons.
Camera Update
We mentioned in the last letter we’ll be working on cameras in multiple stages:
With this in mind, the first camera improvement will arrive in the Season 7 mid-season update. Here you’ll be able to see a new FOV/Height for the 3rd person cameras (and possibly some cockpit camera improvements as well). However, for 3rd person, you’ll have the ability to switch between these new cameras, and the legacy version within the settings menu, so even if you don’t like it, you’ll still be able to go back to the original version.
8-Player Groups
It’s been a while since we last talked about this feature, and it’s time we’ve given you an update on it! Along with ‘Servers V2’ and the amazing social features of houses, the network team has been hard at work working on 8 player groups. That said, we are planning to release this feature with the mid-season update of Season 7.
Targeted Date
Season 7 will be arriving within the last week of August/first week of September.
ORC Delay
We have to be honest here. It’s evident that Nacon and KT are facing new challenges at the moment, and we no longer have the capacity to tackle multiple complex features at the same time. That said, right now we are focusing on Housing to give the community the best experience possible. So, even though the ORC is important—and as you can see, we have already started working on it—we have to focus on Season 8 and the Housing development because it is one of, if not the most important features.
We will provide more details on when the ORC will arrive after we release Season 8, which is when we can discuss our plans for Season 9 and onwards.
Despite the delay, you can still find the ORC in the open-world along with an updated track layout with a pit lane!
Other Improvements
We have also reworked the loading screens for day one of Season 7. You can take a look at this in the new image below!
Of course, we know the question will be asked, but we can confirm that for Season 8, a new start menu video will be shown with new music!
In Season 7, you'll also be able to find toggles for motion blur (console players have highly requested this), Grain, and Chromatic Aberration.
To follow up on the previous announcement of our work on a future offline mode for TDUSC, here is what Game Director Guillaume has to say!
“We wanted to speak again about the subject of Offline Mode. I think our previous communication was a little misleading, and we want to reassure you that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is not coming to an end anytime soon.
Our goal was to let you know that we are actively working on this topic, which has been at the heart of all discussions since the game's launch.
While we don't know exactly what form it will take yet, we are certain of one thing: we don't want this game to be unable to play it if servers eventually shut down. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown like all Test Drive, deserves to live forever because it holds a special place in our hearts. We don't kill games here!
To achieve this, we need to start working ahead because it is a massive undertaking. It won't be a task that takes just a few months, but rather more than a year. We need time to define it, find the best solution for you, and work on it alongside developing cool new features and content for the game.
So rest assured, the Test Drive Family can continue its journey! It's not the end of the story, it has just begun”
- Guillaume (TDUSC Game Director)
Yup! It’s time to announce the winners for the month of June!
Winners
Last month we asked you to take photos to match the theme ‘House Guesser! If you’ve won, it doesn’t mean you guessed where a house will be, but we do love the area you chose! Anyways, here are the top 3 voted photos of the month by the TDU team!
Congrats again to the winners! You all win 2,500,000 Solar Coins and 100 Diamonds!
How To Enter
First, join our Discord which can be found at Discord.gg/TestDrive. Once you join our Discord, you’ll see a channel called ‘tdusc-photos’. Here, you can send the best pictures you've taken in TDUSC, but make sure to put %communityspotlight6 in your message post!
Here are the rules:
Note: Posting in this channel means you allow your picture to be used by Nacon/KT for promotional use.
July Theme
Fun Beach Summer - Your photo must feature a scenic view with or without your vehicle present on a beach in either Hong Kong Island or Ibiza! Good luck!
Fan Created Stuff
For the first time in a Solar Club Letter, we also want to highlight cool things that the community has worked on to create new ways to play Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown! Of course, this doesn’t mean we promote modding, and it is still against the Terms of Service to export, modify or inject the game files. However, check out the ‘#🤝︱community-support’ channel in the official Discord server for some of the communities guides, overlays, and projects!
Thanks for reading this month’s Solar Club Letter! We’ll see you again next month for more details on what is to come in Season 7! One more thing, here’s a tease of an upcoming car in Season 7. If you want an extra hint, check out the official Discord for a sound clip of this vehicle!
p.s - “I want to personally thank the developers for the work that has been done in trying to bring the Test Drive Unlimited franchise back into the hearts of many, and although there is still work to do, I still want to mention I appreciate everything the team has done to improve the game so far. Times are tough right now, it’s clear, but I will be here by the team's side until the day TDUSC is no more, and I give much thanks to those who are at KT, hard at work for the future updates to come. I’m sure we’ve always wished for a better scenario, but I know everyone tried their best, and continue to still do so. Give some thanks to the devs at KT too TDU community, they deserve it, not just for everything done in the past, nor present work, but all of the future features and content they still work to bring to TDUSC over the coming seasons. See you soon!”
- a personal note from the community manager at Nacon Racing, Alex.
Now I’m not a developer by any means, but here’s a website that I hope will bring more players to the online features of TDUSC.
As a Destiny 1 fan, an LFG site was very helpful in bringing the community to PvP events, raids, and more! So why not make something for TDUSC?
> Create sessions (with chatbox feature)
> Ranked race queue
> Submit pics
> & more!
Best of all, NO ACCOUNT NEEDED!
You can check it out at https://www.TDULFG.com
This website is not affiliated with Nacon and KT at all. It’s just a community project made by me personally. I know there’ll be some comments as I’ve seen on my video already but of course KT is working on matchmaking improvements, network bug fixes, the ORC (which will have a queue for ranked and unranked play) and other networking improvements with ‘servers v2’ and 8-player groups.
I’ll be honest, it’s silly to sugar coat that the development time for fixes for TDUSC aren’t the fastest, but I hope this little tool can help bandaid while KT work on the real proper fixes and improvements for the game. Any questions let me know!
I forgot to mention in the letter, but we can confirm motion blur toggle will be available for both consoles at the launch of Season 7's update!
Sorry for the wait! Stay tuned on our next Solar Club Letters for the release date of Season 7.
Season 6’s mid-season update released earlier this month. This update brought more Detective Missions with a difficulty improvement to all of them, a new vehicle and bug fixes. Next is Season 7, which brings new vehicles with majority of them belonging to JDM culture, and a massive improvement to the game's ‘live’ gameplay structure with new daily challenges, enhanced live events, and an enhanced solar pass. We won’t be able to share the release month of Season 7 yet, but we will have better visibility on this topic within the next 2 Solar Club Letters, giving a 30 day heads up on the next update release.
Now, let’s discuss what’s happening behind the scenes with the games development! Oh, before that, keep note of the pictures you see in this letter. Some, if not many, have quite a lot of fixes and improvements in them, and some might even reveal some cool stuff too!
Today we’re going to discuss some of the things our developers are working on behind the scenes.
So you already know the theme behind Season 7’s vehicles, but let’s go in a little bit more detail on this topic! As usual, Season 7 will bring 1 vehicle to the dealership, 3 to the Solar Pass, and 2 bundles in the online store. Currently, we’ve already worked on the dynamics on all the vehicles and soon to finalise the sound of them as well. We know you want a tease, so here’s a zoomed in screenshot of a Season 7 vehicle!
We are also working on other areas we are working on to improve the experience of the players. This is for example:
But we also want to be open and let you know that there are other areas of the game we are working on, but what we’ll mention below we cannot yet confirm if it will arrive in Season 7 or Season 7’s mid-season update yet. Such things are:
We are now focused on the technical implementation. Sometimes, features that seem simple on the surface require a deep overhaul of our current systems to ensure they work correctly in the long term. This update will also include a comprehensive fix for existing rim size inconsistencies currently affecting certain car models.
We will continue to give you updates on what’s coming next for TDUSC.
One thing we knew we had to improve in the game at some point is how players interact with the game everyday. Right now, the only new content or challenges you have are weekly live events as the main thing. With Season 7’s live enhancements, you’ll have a massively overhauled live experience to help captivate the world of TDUSC with new rewards through revamped live events which can now feature missions and challenges, new weekly rewards for the Solar Pass, and new daily challenges which now focus on three elements.
The development team has done some incredible work with these new features, in fact, it’s easier if we have Guillaume go over these screenshots to explain this as we are now near a final version of the UI that you’ll all see in Season 7!
“This is a major feature that will fundamentally reshape your day-to-day experience in Test Drive. As you can see, the World Map now features a Live Panel where various types of challenges can be tracked and completed to have access to rewards (money and items) and progress into your Solar Pass.
These are categorized into three types:
- Daily Challenges
- Live Event Challenges
- Seasonal Challenges
First, let’s dive deeper into the revamped Daily Challenges.
We have redesigned how these work to better reflect the three pillars of the TDU DNA: Exploration, Lifestyle, and Driving. Each day, you will be assigned one challenge for each pillar. Completing them grants you specific rewards.
If a particular challenge doesn't suit your playstyle, you can use one of your three daily rerolls. Doing so will allow you to choose a new challenge from a selection of three alternatives within that same theme. Our goal is to give you the freedom to shape your own daily progression.”
- Guillaume (TDUSC Game Director)
“The Live Event Challenges are here! You’ll have 8 themed challenges to tackle during each event. These objectives will push you to drive specific cars in new ways and explore the latest events popping up on your map.
The best part? No more grinding for points. If you complete the 8 challenges, the special reward is yours. It's that simple: just play, complete the tasks, and enjoy your prizes!
We’re also incredibly happy to share that we’re moving beyond Sprints and Circuits. Thanks to this new system, we are finally bringing Contracts, Time Attack, Navigation, and Domination events to the world of Solar Crown. Get ready for a lot more variety!”
- Guillaume (TDUSC Game Director)
“And finally: Seasonal Challenges.
We’re adding 8 new challenges every week, and they’ll stay active for the entire season. If you clear a full page of 8 challenges, there’s an extra reward waiting for you!
If you’re looking to blast through your Solar Pass or stack up some easy cash, these tasks from the Live Panel are now your best bet. You’ll still earn progress by just racing and accomplish thing like before, but these challenges are the ultimate shortcut.
This has been in the works since day one to make sure your daily and weekly routine in TDU feels rewarding. It was a huge task for the team, but it’s finally here to make the world of Solar Crown feel more alive than ever.”
- Guillaume (TDUSC Game Director)
Cars and new features aren’t the only thing we’ve been working on. There are a lot of quality of life improvements we’ve done on all fronts. For example, here’s a look at some new colours for the world map! Thibault and his team have worked on the artistic direction of it to make it more like a plan and less like a futuristic projection, and we hope you love it!
p.s - yes we hid some POI's, we don't want to leak the location of the houses yet! Plus you have some house teases in this letter too, we're integrating some of them into the map already!
Remember speed traps? We are also updating Speed Traps with a new official HKI model and removing the 'portal' effect for a more seamless look. Our goal is simple: to make your time in Test Drive feel more like real-world driving.
You might also realise that low light and photos with shadows look much better. Though this isn’t a quality of life improvement and rather a bug fix, photo mode no longer has the Global Illumination/Ambient Occlusion Not Stabilised/Denoised In Photo Mode issue. This means you can take beautiful pictures, without being affected by poor shadow performance in the form of ‘dots’ on the vehicle or other objects in the world.
Here is what it was like before.
Here it is now.
As we said before, your pictures have never looked better after this fix!
There are much more bug fixes and quality of life features we are working on such as:
We also are working on memory issues that TDUSC has to help improve the reliability and performance of the game. We don’t have much detailed insight on this yet but as usual, we’ll make sure to let you know more info on this later.
Before discussing this, we want to make one thing clear. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is a game we know can continue to improve and bring excitement to the many players who want a driving lifestyle game, a tag well acquainted to the meaning of TDU. We are committed to delivering Season 7 and Season 8, and while we are about to discuss offline, it is not a correlation to the game ending its seasonal updates after Season 8. We believe TDUSC has a future past Season 8, and we’ll be sure to communicate what’s next after the arrival of this stellar update. Now, let’s talk about offline, a large request from the community.
The last time we talked about offline, we mentioned we will look into this feature when the games live service comes to an end, which is why we wanted to reiterate above that discussing this feature is not to be taken as an indication of the games live service ending.
That said, we can confirm we are now officially working on a plan on what offline means to Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, and how we will implement it. We of course wish to make sure TDUSC is playable for all players when we no longer update the game, but this is a complicated feature to work on, as all of the game is connected to the servers.
Working on a plan is the first step to know what will be offline, and how it will work when it’s offline. The word ‘offline’ may have a different meaning to many. Some see it as just being able to play a game without the internet. However, the truth is that it actually means being able to play a game without servers. What does this mean? Well TDUSC has a lot of features that rely on the games servers. Races, the Casino, Missions, and then there’s live service elements such as Hot Heads, Clan Challenges, and even the cars rotating in the Solar Hotel. The most important being how content in the online store can be available, Diamonds, and even how your saves can be adapted to the new system.
We want to make sure that nearly every feature of the game is still playable without the games servers, which might mean some features will have to be changed to work with this new system (for example if we want poker to be playable without servers).
We won’t have any news to provide on the progress of our next steps for quite a few months as we are currently working on other things related to the games network and servers such as cross region, servers ‘v2’, Official Racing Center, and all of the amazing social features Season 8’s houses will bring, but we want to ask you a question, what does offline mean to you? What should be available? What do you think should be a priority in what offline can offer? Leave your feedback to us on our Discord and social media outlets, we’ll be reading it all!
We want to thank the community for their continued support and feedback on Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. We know there are many things we must work on and surely, we’ll get by them with each update that arrives! We have a lot of exciting things planned for Season 7 and even Season 8 that we have yet to reveal, many being key features and quality of life improvements the community has been asking for even dating back to the release of the game.
We are excited to deliver these next Seasons, and soon, showcase to you what the future of TDUSC holds after Season 8. We’re working hard, and we hope to see that when you play these next updates!
We’ll see you again soon and with the continued work on Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, we will be sure to keep the TDU franchise alive for the many years to come through it!
Yup! It’s time to announce the winners for the month of May!
Last month we asked you to take photos to match the theme ‘Professional Photographer’! There were A LOT of good entries but here are the top 3 voted photos of the month by the TDU team!
Congrats again to the winners! You all win 2,500,000 Solar Coins and 250 Diamonds! There were so many good entries for this months spotlight, we have to give an honorable mention to these members of the community too!
First, join our Discord which can be found at Discord.gg/TestDrive. Once you join our Discord, you’ll see a channel called ‘tdusc-photos’. Here, you can send the best pictures you've taken in TDUSC, but make sure to put %communityspotlight4 in your message post!
Here are the rules:
Note: Posting in this channel means you allow your picture to be used by Nacon/KT for promotional use.
House Guesser - Let's have some fun! Take a photo of your car in a location where you think a house will be located (does not include the construction site locations).
Thanks for reading this letter! We’ll see you again next month as usual for the next Solar Club Letter. For now, we head back to work on the future of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown! Our engineering team did some inspections today, and they thought they should take some pictures! We hope you enjoyed them!
- The TDU Team
Was wondering if anyone was interested in joining this project.
I feel like there’s a gap in a proper 3D ‘open world’ Thunderbirds game. I’d imagine an open word Tracy island, where you can walk around and see all of the Thunderbird rooms, and you can launch missions from the launch pad, with the ability to have up to 4 players in co-op.
I’d be building it on Unreal Engine, and I don’t have much expertise in game development, but I do in aerospace engineering and I can probably use some skills from that to work on modelling the aircraft (though I’m not certain), but flight physics for sure!
If anyone is interested in joining or has questions or ideas or feedback on how or what I should work on, let me know in comments or DM!