Hao's Special Works in GTA Online: How to unlock, car upgrades & more

January 2023 · 3 minute read

GTA Online’s next-gen update has brought about some big changes to the streets of Los Santos, including the arrival of Hao’s Special Works for car upgrades. So, here’s everything you need to know. 

When it comes to flexing on your GTA Online counterparts, one of the best ways to do so is with your car collection – be it in there fresh out of the showroom state or with a crazy amount of upgrades.

In terms of the latter, Rockstar Games have continually brought in new upgrade options to GTA Online with the likes of the Los Santos Tuners being the most notable recent update for car enthusiasts.

Now, there is another in the form of Hao’s Special Works and there are a few hoops to jump through before you’ll have access to them. So, here’s what you need to know.

There are plenty of new cars in GTA Online thanks to the Tuners update.

How to unlock Hao’s Special Works in GTA Online

Now, getting introduced to Hao and the Special Works program is the easy part. Once you drop into GTA Online, you’ll eventually get a call from Hao himself.

The car tuner will task you with completing a Time Trial in one of his souped-up cars that you’ll have to pick up from a garage in Vinewood. You’ll find it on your map with the Hao’s Vehicle marker. Head to the garage, watch the cut scene, and then the Time Trial will begin.

If you’re not exactly the greatest GTA Online driver, but still want access to the upgrades, don’t fret about the Time Trial. You’ll have just over eight minutes to complete it, but it shouldn’t take much more than five or six – even with a few crashes.

Once that’s done, you’ll need to buy a Los Santos Tuners membership if you haven’t already. It costs $50,000 in-game cash and can be purchased from Mimi inside the Car Meet. You can’t miss her, she’s sitting in the trunk of her car.

  • Load up GTA Online
  • Wait for Hao to call
  • Find Hao’s Vehicle in the Vinewood Garage
  • Complete the Time Trial
  • Head to the Los Santos Car Meet
  • Purchase a membership from Mimi if you haven’t already
  • You’ll now be able to access Hao’s Special Works!
    • Head to this Vinewood Garage once you’ve spoken to Hao to start the Time Trial.

    Hao’s Special Works upgradeable cars

    When it comes to throwing the Special Works upgrades on cars, there is only a select list. You aren’t going to be able to use upgrade a day one GTA Online car just yet.

    The list is currently only nine cars long, and that includes the five next-gen exclusives like the Coil Cyclone II and Karin S95. The latter is free for a limited time, so you could mess about with the upgrades using that.

    Additionally, your first go-around with the Special Works upgrades is free, so make sure you don’t waste your one free upgrade!

    Select GTA Online cars can be upgraded at Hao’s Special Works.

    From then on, Hao’s Special Works can be found inside the Los Santos Car Meet, made easily recognizable by the big HSW logo on the back wheel. Just walk up to the area and you’ll be able to start tuning things.

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    If anything changes, say new cars get added to the Hao’s Special Works list, we’ll update this page. So, keep checking back for more.

    Otherwise, you can check out other GTA Online guides for the next-gen upgrade, here.

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