
Once the car has been starred up at least once, the player can create custom paint job colors to the body, rims, and brake calipers for most models. Upon unlocking a car, the player can often choose from a few official stock colors or designs. The fuel quantity for each individual car is based on the max number of possible stars for that car: 3 star cars have 6 fuel, 4 star cars have 5, etc. Each car now also uses fuel when used for a race event, limiting its use for any game mode. Each car can also be customized with the new car editor feature. For each new star, the car's performance capability is increased.

All cars in the game now require blueprints to unlock and later "star up", with each of them having anywhere from 3 to 6 stars. The player starts with the lowest car in the lowest class (Class D), the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and ends with the highest car in the highest class (Class S), the Bugatti Bolide. Like its predecessor, each of the cars belongs to a class progressively featuring higher performance and rarity: D, C, B, A, and S. There are currently 219 cars as of the racing through fire and hall of flames update. There were 48 cars featured in the game when soft-launched, but the worldwide release saw the introduction of four new cars, leading to 52 cars. The gameplay in Asphalt 9 is similar to the other Asphalt Games with noticeable differences in graphics and design. Pictured is a gameplay still featuring the TouchDrive control scheme. Gameplay Asphalt 9 makes extensive use of simulated HDR rendering and pixel shaders, as seen on the sky and specular reflections on the road surface.

The graphics are considered significantly improved compared to its 2013 predecessor, Asphalt 8: Airborne.

In comparison to previous entries, there are several new and improved features, such as a prestigious car lineup, new control schemes, including the autopilot mode called "TouchDrive", and race modes, and the reimplemented "shockwave nitro" from Asphalt 6: Adrenaline. Released on July 25, 2018, it's the fifteenth major game of Asphalt series. Asphalt 9: Legends is a 2018 racing game developed by Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft.
