It’s the final week of Horizon Festival’s perceptual relocation across the Pacific Ocean, as Forza Horizon 5’s Series 17 enters the Spring season.
Officially called “Japanese Automotive”, the game set in Mexico celebrates cars from Japan during the Series, with events for and prizes of Japanese cars almost exclusively across the four weeks.
That means new cars, some returning from previous titles and some brand new, as well as the traditional Evolving World Accolade for keeping right on top of your collection.
There’s new items as well, with EventLab expanding to include special props for creating your own multi-level car parks — for reasons — as well as new wheel rims from Japanese brands.
With the Series coming to an end next week, it’s your last chance to roll up anything missing from your collection.
Series 17: Japanese Automotive Rewards
With the final points on offer this week you should already have both of the Series reward cars. Neither is new to the game, but they’re not available in the Autoshow so it’s a good chance to own both.
At 80 points it’s the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO, which is pretty much peak-R35 even if it still looks pretty much like the 15-year old original. Feel old yet?
Given a thorough working-over by NISMO, the GT-R now sports redesigned brakes, suspension, wheels, aerodynamics, electronic control and stability systems, and a brand-new pair of turbochargers right off the GT3 race car.
That means the NISMO produces a cool 600hp from the 3.8-liter V6, but also turns up the car’s handling to 11; it is like a totally different car to drive from a “regular” R35.
The 160-point reward car is one not too dissimilar in terms of concept and execution — though it was designed for racing rather than derived from it.
That’s the Subaru Impreza 22B, a roadgoing homologation model for Subaru’s World Rally Championship exploits.
The regular Impreza was already pretty handy on the rally stages, but Subaru wanted a more focused vehicle and made the 22B — out of a special, widebody version of the two-door coupe — in order to allow it to run a rally version.
It sports a reworked, bored out, 2.2-liter version of the boxer four, specific to the car, which still provides the “gentleman’s agreement” 276hp (allegedly) but has a flatter and wider torque curve.
There were only 424 made, with 400 remaining in Japan and 24 distributed to all other markets but mainly reaching the UK.
Series 17 Spring/Hot Season Rewards
The last brand new car of the Series is up this week, with 20 points seeing you take the Toyota Sports 800 home with you.
Although cited as an example of a “kei car” (from the Japanese “keijidosha”) in the official launch stream, the 800 is, incredibly, too big to fit into the class. Even its massive 800cc, 45hp engine disqualifies it…
The Yota Hachi though is an incredibly important car. Although the 2000GT is credited as changing the opinions of the outside world about the capabilities of the Japanese car industry, the 800 predated it by two years and previewed the very same design language.
That said, aside from a bizarre situation which saw the 800 built as a left-hand drive car in very small numbers for the US market and US personnel in Okinawa, it was never marketed outside of Japan and went unnoticed until some decades later.
40 points will get you the returning Nissan Sentra NISMO, a front-wheel drive sports sedan previously available as a playlist-exclusive in Series 12.
To create the NISMO, Nissan stuffed the Nismo Juke’s 1.6-liter turbo into the ordinary Sentra sedan, but turned it down a little to 188hp; given the Juke’s propensity to torque-steer, that’s probably a wise idea.
Spring will run through to 1430UTC on Thursday March 2, bringing Series 17 to a close along with it. They’ll be replaced by the Summer season of the new Series 18.
Series 17 Spring Playlist: Forzathon Events
Honda is up on the Weekly Challenge this week, which is looking at the history of the Type R badge. Own and drive 1997 Honda Civic Type R to get Civic Duty started.
You’ll need to take the CTR to two victories in any Road Racing Series events, and follow that up by earning a Hard Charger Skill. This is easy enough to achieve, as you just need to accelerate from a standing start and not let up for around ten seconds.
Finally take a photograph of the car, and we’d suggest doubling up with the Photo Challenge this week by finding the lanterns in the Ek’Balam cave (see below) to maximize your effort/reward equation.
However you do it though, completion will earn you the five points and 80FP, with the Forzathon Points doubled if you own the La Casa Solariega player house near Teotihuacan.
Weekly Challenge: Civic Duty
- Car: Honda Civic Type R 1997
- Chapter 1: Own and drive the Honda Civic Type R ’97
- Chapter 2: Win two Road Racing events in the Honda Civic Type R ’97
- Chapter 3: Earn a Hard Charger Skill in the Honda Civic Type R ’97
- Chapter 4: Take a photograph of the Honda Civic Type R ’97
- Reward: 5 points, 80FP
The final seven Daily Challenges of the Series drop sequentially at 1430UTC each day. As usual each gives you seven days to complete (overlapping into next Series for later ones), with one point and 10FP for each one you check off.
It took three weeks, but finally FH5 mentions it; earn five stars at any Drift Zones in any Japanese vehicle to complete Tokyo Drift.
You’ll be paying homage to Smoky Nagata in Cruise Boulevard, which requires you to hold a speed of 200mph or more for at least ten seconds in the Toyota Supra RZ ’98. A tune will be necessary, and it’s worth holding off on this until Wednesday to double-up your dailies.
Gas Gas Gas will be a tricky one, as you’ll need to earn an Ultimate Speed Skill in The Eliminator. Firstly, you’ll need Xbox Live Gold (or to play on PC) to access this multiplayer event, but then you’ll also need to rank up — by eliminating other players or finding car drops — to a car fast enough to reach the ~200mph speed required… and then still have access to an area that allows you to reach that speed. At least a level six Audi RS7 is needed, and your best bet is to head up to the volcano and scream down one of the valleys.
It’s not quite so hard to complete One-Winged Angel. Just enter and complete the “On a Wing and a Prayer” Showcase, via the start point in Mulege.
Head To Infinity! (but not beyond) by earning three stars at any Danger Sign in “an Infiniti vehicle” — or the Q60, as it’s the only one. This may require three stars in one go, in which case the Boardwalk sign is your best bet.
Be Like a Drag-On next, and win any drag race. There’s three, located at Teotihuacan (short), the Horizon Festival (medium), and Aerodromo en la Selva (long), but you just need to win at any one of them, in any class car.
Close out the Series with a Photo Shoot; just photograph the Toyota Supra RZ ’98 for the final point.
Daily Challenges
- February 23 – Tokyo Drift: Earn five stars at any Drift Zones in any Japanese vehicle
- February 24 – Cruise Boulevard: Maintain a speed of 200mph for ten seconds in the Toyota Supra RZ ’98
- February 25 – Gas Gas Gas: Earn an Ultimate Speed Skill in The Eliminator
- February 26 – One-Winged Angel: Complete the “On a Wing and a Prayer” Showcase
- February 27 – To Infinity!: Earn three stars on any Danger Sign in an Infiniti vehicle
- February 28 – Like a Drag-On: Win a Drag Race
- March 1 – Photo Shoot: Photograph the Toyota Supra RZ ’98
Series 17 Spring Playlist: Season Events
It’s another week of coupled events, with two PR Stunts, two Seasonal Championships, two EventLabs, and two Multiplayer events.
The PR Stunts remain open-class events, requiring any S2 Class (901-998PI) vehicle with no other limitations — meaning you could use the same car for both, though as it’s a Drift Zone and Danger Sign pairing it’s probably unwise. You’ll score two points and a Super Wheelspin for each.
It’s an asphalt Drift Zone this week, with the Las Dunas zone in Dunas Blancas hosting. You’ll need to hit 180,000pt to complete it, which isn’t too tough. Head over to the opposite coast and the mangroves for the Boardwalk Danger Sign; this is usually the easiest sign to three-star but the 170m target requires some speed and a square take-off.
The Seasonal Championships are their usual three-race series against Highly Skilled AI. In both cases you’ll need to top the final points table to win five points to your season total.
Fly the Coupe is a Street Racing Series event, so watch out for NPC traffic (if any actually loads). You’ll need a B Class (601-700PI) Modern Sports Car from Japan to take part, and there’s a Subaru WRX ’08 for taking the win.
The Road Racing Series hosts Totally Toyota, requiring a C Class (501-600PI) Toyota. Along with the points there’s a 2016 Mazda MX-5 for victory.
EventLab brings more Japan-themed courses, each giving three points towards your season and Series completion stats. Both require any car from Japan in the B Class (601-700PI) bracket.
Touge Battle 06 is, in its native form, a head-to-head over a touge course set within Guanajuato but decorated to look like a market town in Japan. It’s a solo run here, so complete the laps to earn your Super Wheelspin.
Cobra Drift Park is a mazy circuit laid out on a boardwalk above the Bahia de Plano beach. There’s a few jumps to contend with, but plenty of breakable barriers in case you flub it. Reach the end to score the points and a “Driftacular” Forza LINK greeting.
Danger Sign: Boardwalk
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Riviera Maya, Boardwalk Danger Sign
- Challenge: 170m
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Drift Zone: Las Dunas
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Dunas Blancas, Las Dunas Drift Zone
- Challenge: 180,000pt
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Seasonal Championship: Fly the Coupe
- Car: B Class, Modern Sports Cars, Japan
- Location: Colinas Aridas, Cruce del Valle
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Subaru WRX ’08
Seasonal Championship: Totally Toyota
- Car: C Class, Toyota
- Location: Palacio Azul, Emerald Circuit
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Mazda MX-5 ’16
EventLab: Cobra Drift Park
- Car: B Class, Japan
- Location: Bahia de Plano, Bahia de Plano Circuit
- Challenge: Finish the race
- Reward: 3 points, “Driftacular” Forza LINK
EventLab: Touge Battle 06
- Car: B Class, Japan
- Location: Guanajuato, Panoramica Sprint
- Challenge: Finish the race
- Reward: 3 points, Super Wheelspin
There’s the usual pair of bonus events for Hot Wheels DLC owners too. You can score 100% on the Playlist without them, so they’re there as an alternative source of points — seven of them — if you have the DLC.
This week’s PR Stunt is the Hammer’s Shadow Speed Trap. Like the other PR Stunts this week it just requires an S2 Class (901-998PI) car, and while the 245mph speed seems high it’s easy to achieve — for two points and a Super Wheelspin on offer.
You may as well use the same car for Hot Pursuit, which also requires an S2 Class (901-998PI) car with no other limitations. Win the three-race championship against the Highly Skilled AI to earn five points and a Hot Wheels Suit.
Hot Wheels Speed Trap: Hammer’s Shadow
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Hot Wheels Giant’s Canyon, Hammer’s Shadow Speed Trap
- Challenge: 245mph
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Hot Wheels Seasonal Championship: Hot Pursuit
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Hot Wheels Forest Falls, Canyon’s Edge Speed Sprint
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Hot Wheels Suit
As noted above, there’s another pair of multiplayer events this week, and you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold subscription — unless you play on PC — to access them.
Seasonal Playground Games returns for the week, in its one-game format. You’ll need to complete a whole rotation of Team Survival — that’s a best-of-three rounds — in any B Class (601-700PI) car from Japan to earn your Nissan Skyline GT-R, whether you win or lose.
For Survival there’s one “Infected” (green) team and one “Survivor” (purple) team. The Infected must tag the Survivor cars to turn them (orange), but afflicted Survivors can be cured by tagging an uninfected team-mate.
Your goal as Infected is to infect the entire opposition team as quickly as possible, while Survivor teams must try to get through the required time with at least one uninfected car. The winning team is the one that infects more cars more quickly or has the most survivors.
The Trial remains in its usual place, consisting of a three-race championship for a team of up to six humans against six “Unbeatable” AI.
Each player on each team earns 100 points for each opponent they beat, but there’s no reward for beating team-mates. That means you’ll need to help each other out as much as possible while hindering the ‘bots.
This week it’s a Dirt Racing Series event for B Class (601-700PI) Japanese vehicles, which may mean some loose driving from team-mates. Win as a team to earn ten points and a Honda NSX-R GT.
Seasonal Playground Games: Survival
- Car: B Class, Japan
- Location: Aerodromo en la Selva
- Challenge: Complete the event
- Reward: 3 points, Nissan Skyline GT-R ’97
The Trial: Trail Tourers
- Car: B Class, Japan
- Location: Cordillera, Cordillera Trail
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 10 points, Honda NSX-R GT
Series 17 Spring Playlist: Challenges
Three challenges are available this week, with Treasure Hunt returning alongside the regular Photo Challenge and a multiplayer Horizon Open event.
Horizon Open requires Xbox Live Gold subscription — unless you play on PC — to access, but it’s a relatively simple challenge this week. Just complete any Open Drifting event in a Japanese vehicle to earn the two points and a 1998 Nissan Silvia… but don’t use the car in the thumbnail as it isn’t classified as Japanese.
There’s a fourth and final ishi-doro Photo Challenge this week, as #SecretHondaWay sees you hunting for a secret cave.
It’s actually not tricky to find the cave, in Ek’Balam, as it’s visible from the the main path around the east of the area. The cave itself is accessible by driving a little way south-west from the southernmost part of the solid orange path, towards the map marker for Ek’Balam. There’s also an XP board there, but you can’t fast-travel directly to it.
Once there, take a photo of any Honda — the Civic Type R ’97 will allow you to complete the fourth stage of the Weekly Challenge this week — or Acura with the stone lanterns to earn the point and a “Too Soon, Junior” Forza LINK greeting.
This week’s Treasure Hunt, Supraman, unsurprisingly focuses on the Toyota Supra. The clue itself — “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Supraman!” — isn’t supremely helpful, but we can see from the thumbnail a third-gen Toyota Supra hitting the Runway Danger Sign.
Naturally that suggests Supras and Danger Signs, and in fact you only need to score one star in any generation of Supra at any Danger Sign to reveal the hint — a red zone on your map containing the chest.
This week that’s in the grounds of the Hotel Castillo player house, on the north side by the golf carts. Smash the chest to take three points and 100FP.
Horizon Open: Tandem Drifting
- Cars: Japan
- Location: Horizon Open Drifting
- Challenge: Complete any Horizon Open Drifting event in a Japanese vehicle
- Reward: 2 points, Nissan Skyline GT-R ’97
Photo Challenge: #SecretHondaWay
- Cars: Acura/Honda
- Location: Ek’Balam
- Challenge: Photograph any Acura or Honda next to the stone lanterns in Ek’Balam’s secret cave
- Reward: 2 points, “Too Soon, Junior” Forza LINK
Treasure Hunt: Supraman
- Cars: Toyota Supra (any)
- Location: Danger Sign (any)
- Challenge: Score one star at any Danger Sign in any Toyota Supra
- Reward: 3 points, 100FP
If you haven’t already completed them, it’s the final week for the two Rivals challenges.
In each case you’ll need a clean laptime at the tracks indicated, using the vehicles provided to you. Although listed as Rivals event, there’s no need to beat any laptimes; slow and steady may not win the race, but it will clear the challenge.
Both events award a total of four points for completion, with one point distributed to each of the four seasons in the series regardless of when you complete them — even to past weeks.
For Forza EV you’ll be heading to the Tierra Prospera Circuit, in the Rimac Concept Two; it’s not very Japanese, but there’s no Japanese EVs in the game. Its huge speed and weight mean the first big braking zone will be the tricky part.
Monthly Rivals heads to nearby Guanajuato for the Plaza Circuit, using the new Nissan Z. With buildings close by losing your clean lap is particularly easy here, so keep it on the island.
Forza EV: Tierra Prospera Circuit
- Cars: Rimac Concept Two (Provided)
- Location: Tierra Prospera, Tierra Prospera Circuit
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Monthly Rivals: Plaza Circuit
- Cars: Nissan Z ’23 (Provided)
- Location: Guanajuato, Plaza Circuit
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Series 17 Spring Forzathon Shop
It’s Toyota’s turn to front the Forzathon Shop this week, with two rather different offerings.
Leading the charge is the Lexus LFA, which was a car absolutely nobody saw coming. Up until that point in time, Lexus had essentially been a brand that made posher Toyota models; the LS400 was a perfect example of the type, and even the sporty IS200 mid-sized sedan did little to affect that.
Then, almost out of nowhere, came a $400,000 hyper GT, packing a screaming V10 stuffed into a body made mostly from carbon-fiber composites.
With 550hp on tap, the LFA was by far the fastest and most expensive thing Lexus has ever produced, but despite all its lofty qualities and internet meme status it — perhaps unsurprisingly — didn’t manage to sell all of them. In fact of the 500 made between 2010 and 2012, some went unregistered until 2020 and one reportedly remains so.
It’s a reasonable price at 350FP this week, but the 500,000cr Autoshow example might prove more tempting.
The second Toyota doesn’t fit under the brand in the game, instead appearing as a DeBerti. That’s because it used to be a Tacoma pickup, before the DeBertis got their hands on it and made it into a NASCAR V8-powered drift truck.
You can also buy “The Performance Truck” from the Autoshow for 500,000cr, or the slightly cheaper 300FP this week.
Store items this week are the Announcer Countdown Horn and the Gold Leather Boots, at 75FP each. The Wheelspin (60FP) and Super Wheelspin (150FP) remain in their usual spots.
See more articles on Forza Horizon 5 Season Change.
