The latest Forza Horizon 5’s Series, “High Performance”, continues for a third week, as Winter comes to Mexico and brings a new set of Playlist challenges and rewards for the next seven days.
As the name suggests, Series 20 is all about going fast, and to that end Playground Games has transformed the Horizon Stadium — ordinarily a weirdly circular football pitch — into a temple of speed featuring a short-track oval.
This two-turn, banked course hosts a range of races and new Evolving World Accolades that cover both on-track action and infield shenanigans. There’s also a new EventLab build marker for the stadium, allowing players to make their own courses — with or without the oval — starting on the inside, rather than the outside.
Along with the new oval there’s four new-to-series cars available this Series, each coming at 20 points scored in the four weeks; there’s always the Auction House if you’ve already missed out. An Evolving World Accolade is also available for collecting all four.
Series 20: High Performance
Both of the monthly rewards then are cars already available in the game, but neither is available through ordinary means so it’s well worth collecting them this Series.
You should already have the 80-point mark in your rear-view mirror, adding the Ferrari 599XX to your collection.
Developed from the road-going 599GTB, the XX is the answer to the question “what if we didn’t need to make it road legal?”. It transpires that this means fan-assisted aerodynamics, another 100hp on top of the standard 612hp, and a complete overhaul of control electronics to make the car outrageously rapid.
There is a catch, in that Ferrari keeps hold of and maintains the $1.5m car for you, delivering it to the approved track of your choice for your track days. That didn’t stop FH1 bad guy Darius Flynt from using it as his personal ride around the streets of Colorado-ish though.
The 160-point car should be your target this week, particularly as it’s a car that regularly tops lists of greatest cars ever made.
Designed by Gordon Murray and Peter Stevens the ultimate road car, the fact that the McLaren F1 was also the fastest production car in the world and scored a 1-3-4-5 at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans were achievements that just happened to emerge from the project and not by design.
McLaren only made 106 examples across all versions of the car, with most being the road car you see here, and when they do come up for sale they command eight-figure values.
Series 20 Winter/Dry Season Rewards
It’s the least powerful of the four new cars this Series on offer for 20 points this week, but considering it has almost 600hp that’s not exactly a damning assessment.
Hit the target and you’ll pick up the updated 2021 Audi RS6, a performance wagon that can carry more stuff and people to higher speeds than just about anything on the roads.
The RS6 now packs 592hp from a development of the four-liter V8 TFSI twin-turbo, dropping the already impressive 0-60mph time down to the mid-threes. While Audi puts some factory reins on the top speed — 155mph as standard, but up to 190mph through a variety of expensive optional add-ons — you won’t be so hindered in Horizon.
At 40 points you’ll have another chance to pick up the Noble M600, an antidote to the modern trend of electric power and electronic aids.
Noble doesn’t believe in letting computers drive its cars, so the M600 has no stability control, no traction control, and not even anti-lock brakes. Considering the fact that the car sports a carbon fiber body wrapped around a steel space frame, and packs a twin-turbo version of tha Yamaha-developed 4.4-liter Volvo V8 engine, it’s quite the recipe.
Winter will run through to 1430UTC on Thursday May 18, with Series 20 continuing for another week until the same time on Thursday May 25.
Series 20 Winter Playlist: Forzathon Events
There’s a link between this week’s reward car and the Forzathon Weekly Challenge, as the Lee Noble-designed Ultima Evolution is featured; own and drive 1020hp kit car to start Situated Beyond.
Although it scarcely seems necessary, you’ll need to spend 25,000cr on upgrades for the Evo. We’d recommend you start with an improbable AWD conversion for the next stage: winning a race at the Festival Drag Strip.
Finally hit a speed of 180mph (289km/h) or more and hold it for ten seconds or more — easy enough in the standard car on the main highway, although we found it auto-completed after the drag race — to complete the challenge and earn five points and 80FP. The Forzathon Points are doubled if you own the La Casa Solariega player house near Teotihuacan.
Weekly Challenge: Situated Beyond
- Car: Ultima Evolution 1020 2015
- Chapter 1: Own and drive the Ultima Evolution ’15
- Chapter 2: Spend 25,000cr on upgrades for the Ultima Evolution ’15
- Chapter 3: Win a race at Festival Drag Strip in the Ultima Evolution ’15
- Chapter 4: Maintain a speed of 180mph (289km/h) for ten seconds in the Ultima Evolution ’15
- Reward: 5 points, 80FP
There’s another seven Daily Challenges this week, with a new one available each day at 1430UTC. You’ll have seven days to complete each one — with the timer continuing to run into the next season where necessary — and one point and 10FP for each.
You’ll be driving a Radial Race first up, by earning ten Speed Skills at the Stadium. As this doesn’t specify the Horizon Oval, you should be able to do it in free roam.
Get an Air Buggy next by earning five stars from Danger Signs in any Unlimited Buggy.
It’s time for some Retro Rapids after that; get any Retro Supercar and keep your speed up above 80mph (128km/h) for ten seconds or more. This should be easily completed on the main highway.
Smash ten cactuses in any Rally Monster next, to complete Spike Central.
For Challenge Accepted just find and complete any Challenge Card in free roam.
Get in the giving spirit by sending A Little Present: fire a Gift Drop to any player.
Finally the 1980s are Back in Style (again), when you bank a total Skill Score (including multiplier) of 50,000pt in any vehicle from the best decade.
Daily Challenges
- May 11 – Radial Race: Earn ten Speed Skills at the Stadium
- May 12 – Air Buggy: Earn five stars from Danger Signs in any Unlimited Buggy
- May 13 – Retro Rapids: Maintain a speed of 80mph (128km/h) for ten seconds in any Retro Supercar
- May 14 – Spike Central: Smash ten cactuses in any Rally Monster
- May 15 – Challenge Accepted: Complete a Challenge Card in free roam
- May 16 – A Little Present: Send a Gift Drop to another player
- May 17 – Back in Style: Bank 50,000 Skill Score in any vehicle from the 1980s
Series 20 Winter Playlist: Season Events
There’s just six events up on the single-player Playlist this week, as three PR Stunts are joined by two Seasonal Championships, and one EventLab creation.
Each of the three PR Stunts is open to all car categories, up S2 Class (901-998PI), and offers two points and a Super Wheelspin for completion.
The targets aren’t intensely tricky this week, even if all three are beyond three-star markers. You’ll need to hit 190mph at the temporary Speed Trap at Tulum, 130,000pt in the Camino del Montana Drift Zone, and 530m at the Basejump Danger Sign into Copper Canyon. Alignment of your landing zone will be key for this last one.
Both Seasonal Championships are three-race series running against Highly Skilled AI. You’ll need to top the final points table to take your prizes, which are five points to your season total and a bonus vehicle reward.
Fresh off the Grill is a Street Racing Series for B Class (601-700PI) Super Hot Hatch cars, awarding a Ferrari F355 for the overall win. Meanwhile Racing in Style takes place on Road Racing Series tracks, with B Class (601-700PI) Vintage Racers eligible and a Lamborghini Countach reward car.
Your solo EventLab offering this week is a unique course laid out on the west coast near the dunes. Complete the five laps of Blue Lagoon in any S2 Class (901-998PI) car to earn three points and a Peach Raul Urias Sundress.
EventLab: Blue Lagoon
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Dunas Blancas, El Lago Blanco
- Challenge: Finish the race
- Reward: 3 points, Peach Raul Urias Sundress
Danger Sign: Basejump
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Horizon Rush Outpost, Basejump Danger Sign
- Challenge: 530m
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Drift Zone: Camino de Montana
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Ek’Balam, Camino de Montana Drift Zone
- Challenge: 130,000pt
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Speed Trap: Tulum
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Tulum, Tulum Speed Trap
- Challenge: 190mph
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Seasonal Championship: Fresh Off The Grill
- Car: B Class, Super Hot Hatch
- Location: Guanajuato, Tunnel Run
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Ferrari F355
Seasonal Championship: Racing in Style
- Car: B Class, Vintage Racers
- Location: Hotel Mirador, Chihuahua Circuit
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Lamborghini Countach
Multiplayer swells to three events, each requiring an Xbox Live Gold subscription — unless you play on PC — in order to access them.
First, and probably most difficult, is The Trial. It’s a best-of-three-race championship for up to six players against a field of six “Unbeatable” AI — although you might find your human team-mates more problematic than the AI.
You only earn points for beating opponents, not your fellow players: each player on each team earns 100 points for each opponent they beat. That means you’ll need help each other out by not getting in each other’s way and blocking the AI.
This week it’s an A Class (701-800PI) Road Racing challenge for Track Toys, so we should see some more controlled driving than usual and a relatively calm win within two races (even if the lead AI are a bit quick in the first). You’ll earn earn ten points and a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro for victory.
There’s also the similar format Horizon Tour. This differs only in that the AI are now merely “Highly Skilled”, it’s three races no matter what, and you’ll need to drive from race to race across the landscape, but winning any Horizon Tour event for any car type will earn the three points.
Finally there’s Seasonal Playground Games. This week that puts you into A Class (701-800PI) Super Saloons — although that class includes some wagons too — for best-of-three rounds of Flag Rush.
The game consists of an attacking and a defending stage for each team. When attacking you’ll need to carry the flag from the pickup point to the goal without being tagged, while defenders need to tag cars carrying flags (or camp the pickup point). The first team to score two round wins will take the overall win but you only need to complete them to earn three points and a 2009 Audi RS6.
Horizon Tour: Co-op Championships
- Car: Any
- Location: Horizon Tour (any)
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 3 points
Seasonal Playground Games: Fleeting Flag Rush
- Car: A Class, Super Saloon
- Location: Estadio Horizon
- Challenge: Complete the event
- Reward: 3 points, Audi RS6 ’09
The Trial: What Goes Around
- Car: A Class, Track Toys
- Location: Los Jardines, Los Jardines Circuit
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 10 points, Chevrolet Camaro ’15
Series 20 Winter Playlist: Challenges
There’s also three challenges, with the permanent Photo Challenge, a Treasure Hunt, and a multiplayer Horizon Open. That last one will also require Xbox Live Gold or PC play to access.
It’s not a particularly in-depth challenge either; just complete any race in Horizon Open to earn three points and the Applause Horn.
The regular Photo Challenge will take you to the reservoir which, thankfully, will be empty during the dry season. That will reveal the Temple of Quechula in the middle of the artificial lake. Head there and photograph any Retro Supercar to complete #FastFromThePast and earn two points and the “This Isn’t Even My Final Form” Forza LINK greeting.
Finally there’s the Treasure Hunt, Road Ready. Your clue here is “Toys never deal well with asphalt, but perhaps a toy meant for the track does better”, and rather suggests you’ll need to complete a Road Racing Series event in any Track Toy — which you can achieve in The Trial above.
Once you do that you’ll reveal the treasure hint map marker, showing the approximate location of the treasure chest. This week that’s at the south-east end of the airport runway in La Selva. Find the chest, in the first hangar to the south of the runway, and smash it to earn 100FP and three points.
Horizon Open: Licence to Race
- Cars: Any
- Location: Horizon Open (any)
- Challenge: Complete a Horizon Open race
- Reward: 3 points, Applause Horn
Photo Challenge: #FastFromThePast
- Cars: Retro Supercar
- Location: Temple of Quechula
- Challenge: Photograph any Retro Supercar at the Temple of Quechula
- Reward: 2 points, “This Isn’t Even My Final Form” Forza LINK
Treasure Hunt: Road Ready
- Cars: Track Toy
- Location: Road Racing Series (any)
- Challenge: Win any Road Racing Series event in any Track Toy; find and smash the Treasure Chest
- Reward: 3 points, 100FP
The two Rivals challenges remain in place for another two weeks, each offering a total of four points for completion — one added to each season — whenever you complete them in the Series.
You only need to drive clean laps in the events to pass, so even though they’re labeled as “Rivals” you should concentrate on cleanliness over speed, and that’s more important than ever this month.
While Forza EV is a standard lap, of the Chihuahua Circuit in the new Porsche Mission R, Monthly Rivals features a point-to-point sprint with plenty of chances to muck it up and no continual lapping to get it right. Get the Huracan STO to the finish at Dunas Blancas unscathed to score the points.
Forza EV: Chihuahua Circuit
- Cars: Porsche Mission R (Provided)
- Location: Hotel Mirador, Chihuahua Circuit
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Monthly Rivals: Dunas Blancas Sprint
- Cars: Lamborghini Huracan STO (Provided)
- Location: Gran Caldera, Dunas Blancas Sprint
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Series 20 Winter Bonus DLC Events
Owners of the two DLC packs get a pair of bonus events on each. They’re not required to hit 100% of the Playlist, but come as a bonus for some extra points if needed — useful on multiplayer-heavy weeks like this one.
Each map hosts a PR Stunt, requiring any car up to S2 Class (901-998PI), awarding two points and a Super Wheelspin for each.
As with the main map the targets are beyond three stars but not particularly tricky. You’ll need to hit 160mph through the Frozen Rush Speed Zone in Hot Wheels and 115,000pt at the Devil’s Pass Drift Zone in Rally Adventure.
There’s also a three-race Seasonal Championship on each map too, worth five points apiece. American Dream in Hot Wheels requires A Class (701-800PI) cars from the USA — use something that can deal with hazard track — and awards a Dodge SRT Demon. Tour Galore in Rally Adventure uses B Class (601-700PI) Modern Rally cars, with the Mexican Race Suit as a prize.
Hot Wheels Speed Zone: Frozen Rush
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Hot Wheels Ice Cauldron, Frozen Rush Speed Zone
- Challenge: 160mph
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Hot Wheels Seasonal Championship: American Dream
- Car: A Class, USA
- Location: Hot Wheels Forest Falls, Waterslide Speed Circuit
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Dodge SRT Demon
Rally Adventure Drift Zone: Devil’s Pass
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Sierra Nueva Cave Paintings, Devil’s Pass Drift Zone
- Challenge: 115,000pt
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Rally Adventure Seasonal Championship: Tour Galore
- Car: B Class, Modern Rally
- Location: Sierra Nueva Crateres Secos, Crateres Secos
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Mexican Race Suit
Series 20 Winter Forzathon Shop
Two entirely different levels of performance are available in the Forzathon Shop this week, starting with one of the fastest cars ever made.
That’s the Koenigsegg Agera RS ’17, available for 700FP this week against an Autoshow price of 2,000,000cr.
Sporting an in-house five-liter V8, the Agera RS produces 1,361hp and — thanks to some smart aerodynamics and a whole host of unique technology — it set multiple performance records. That includes the fastest ever two-way pass for a road car and the fastest speed recorded on public roads — both in the same day — as well as a 0-400km/h-0 record.
Our second car might seem fast if you haven’t experienced the kind of speed Koenigsegg offers, with the Aston Martin DB11 also available.
This V12-powered grand tourer is plenty fast enough, with the twin-turbo 5.2-liter engine producing 600hp and enabling a 200mph top speed. However at 300,000cr in the Autoshow it makes more sense than a 300FP purchase.
Store items this week are the Mexican Traffic Light Horn and the Black Speed Trap Tee, at 75FP each. The Wheelspin (60FP) and Super Wheelspin (150FP) remain in their usual spots.
See more articles on Forza Horizon 5 Season Change.
