Playground Games has revealed the contents of the upcoming Series 22 update for Forza Horizon 5, Upgrade Heroes, and as expected it’s going to be a month that’s heavy on Donuts.
That’s not the fried pastry treat, or even the simplest car stunt going, but the famous car culture YouTube channel, Donut Media, which is making a second appearance in the game in a slightly more expansive style than the first.
In total there’s 13 new cars coming to the game this series, although fans might not be entirely pleased to learn they will have to dig into their wallets to pick up some of them…
Forza Horizon 5 Series 22: Donut Media Hi-Low Story
Donut’s return will see the addition of a new Horizon Story, Donut Media Hi-Low.
You’ll need to decide during the opening chapter whether you want to follow the “Hi” team or the “Low” team — the former tuning cars up with expensive parts, while the latter team gets the budget options — and progress through six subsequent chapters with the team of your choice. Don’t worry, you can go back and complete the other team’s story too, for 13 chapters in total.
The Story offers up four new cars, naturally including the Hi 350Z and the Low 350Z. These two cars are similar in ethos, though not in budget — and of course without the risk of mechanical failure in Horizonland, bereft of some of the pitfalls that faced the real things.
A third car is a Formula Drift machine belonging to Donut Media’s technical producer Adam Knapik. It’s based on a Nissan 240SX, but packs a supercharged V8 and is yours for completing the Bumper-2-Bumper Story Chapter.
Finally there’s a set-dressed alternative to an existing FH5 car, by way of the special “Donut Edition” Ford Transit Supervan 3. Instead of sporting the famous Supervan livery on its 7/8ths scale fiberglass body, this version is in DM yellow, and carries an appropriate roof mascot.
There’s a whole bunch of themed cosmetic rewards for completing the Donut Media events, as well as new Accolades. Donut Media also pops up on special merchandise stands around the map this month.
In addition, the Donut Media Test Track receives an upgrade compared to its S14 iteration and offers new Badges for completing certain tasks.
You’ll be able to tune any car you like at the track, on the fly and without restrictions, and up to 12 players in a single convoy can access it at once. Tune up enough cars and spend enough money and you’ll pick up some of the five Badges on offer.
As well as the Donut cars, there’s five new vehicles on offer through the regular Series Playlist, starting with the updated version of Chris Forsberg’s Formula Drift Z. Now based on a 2023 Z, the drift machine uses a GT-R’s VR38DETT engine for close to 1300hp, and is available for 160 points across the series.
The other cars are all available for 20 points in one of the four seasons, and come in pairs: powerful “black” Mercedes coupes and performance GMC trucks.
Naturally that latter couple is the Syclone and Typhoon, a duo of AWD V6 turbo utility vehicles that can still outperform modern hot hatches.
AMG’s Black label springs up on the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG and Mercedes-AMG GT, which pack more than 600hp and 700hp respectively.
Forza Horizon 5 Series 22: Horizon Racing Car Pack
Also arriving in this month’s update is a first post-launch paid DLC car pack, which is not included in any existing game version.
Coming in at $/€4.99 (£3.99), the pack contains four new cars which — despite the name — includes just one racing car, but will surely overlap with Forza Motorsport’s car list when it launches later this year.
The race car is another Chris Forsberg creation, the “Altimaniac”. It’s similarly packing a Nissan GT-R engine, but this time it’s stuffed into a Nissan Altima and delivers over 2,000hp to the rear wheels only.
Pagani’s Huayra R is only a road car in name. In reality it’s an all-out track toy in the mold of its Zonda R predecessor, with an 850hp, AMG-sourced V12.
The Lotus Emira already appears on the FM car list, and while it’s a little down on power compared to the above it’s no slouch — fitting into Lotus’s philosophy of making a car light enough to use a little power to do a lot. Its supercharged V6 is good for a 0-60mph time in the low fours.
Finally there’s the exact opposite of the Emira, with Saleen’s ludicrous Sportruck based on the Ford F-150. It features a 700hp V8 crammed into the nose, along with over a foot of suspension travel on each corner; you won’t be tackling corners with any grace, but the bits between them (especially if there’s landscape in the way) should be demolished with ease.
We’re expecting the Series 22 update to land sometime on Tuesday June 20, with the playlist itself getting underway at the usual time of 1430 UTC on Thursday June 22.
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