The latest content update from Grand Theft Auto Online, called The Contract, features the return of GTA V protagonist Franklin Clinton, and makes note of his seemingly supernatural ability when handling cars. GTA Online's The Contract also features new songs from a variety of artists, has appearances from Dr. Dre and Anderson .Paak, and elaborates on the celebrity solutions agency Franklin has started in the years since the events of Grand Theft Auto V. Franklin's return brings with it the reappearance of Lamar (who has been involved in GTA Online missions before) and his dog Chop, with Lamar poking fun at Franklin for putting on a strange face while using his special ability.
To go along with GTA 5's introduction of three playable characters, which could be swapped between at will, each one was given a special ability to differentiate them in terms of gameplay. Micael De Santa has a classic Bullet Time ability, which brings the game world's time to a crawl so that the player can more accurately aim in combat. The maniacal Trevor Philips uses an ability in GTA 5's story referred to as Red Mist, which lets him simultaneously deal more damage and take less of it while the ability is activated. Franklin's Driving Focus isn't too far off of Michael's Bullet Time, but it works specifically while driving land vehicles, giving the player much more control over the car/motorcycle/etc. while other vehicles on the road are slowed down, which is perfect for making quick getaways.
Kind of like how Dead-Eye is canonized in Red Dead Redemption with John Marston being taught its third tier by Landon Ricketts, Franklin's Driving Focus is noticeable by the characters in-game, with Lamar directly calling out Franklin's GTA 5 ability. During a mission in GTA Online's The Contract, Lamar challenges Franklin to a race, but wants to make sure he's not at a disadvantage, telling Franklin, "Don't be doin' none of that supernatural freaky driving and shit you be doing." A clip of the interaction was uploaded to Twitter by GTABase, where Lamar follows up with, "Man, you know what I mean. When you go all cross-eyed like you constipated or some shit" after Franklin feigns ignorance.
GTA Online - Franklin's Special Ability Has Been Called Out Before
Lamar seems to be keenly aware of Franklin's motorsport potential, and has previously made mention of the Driving Focus fairly early on in GTA 5, when Chop wasn't as old. In a mission where Franklin, Lamar, and Chop track down and kidnap a member of the Ballas gang, Lamar brings up Franklin's special ability. He makes fun of Franklin here too, saying it's "like watching Chop try to read while you do that shit." Bringing these characters back together in GTA Online is a good bit of fan service, and the dialogue in The Contract is not only a clever nod to gameplay mechanics but a callback to GTA 5 missions too.
Lamar is the only one who explicitly makes mention of the tritagonists' special abilities. Trevor's proclivity for violence is generally known to those he interacts with, but his Red Mist ability isn't directly talked about. At one point during GTA 5's single-player story, Michael's daughter, Tracey, mentions that her father has very good aim, but it doesn't come off as a direct reference to his Bullet Time ability. It's a bit disappointing that Grand Theft Auto Online's new update isn't single-player, but it is nice to see these characters return, bringing their banter with them.
Source: GTABase (via Twitter)