It’s the final week of Forza Horizon 5’s celebration of the summer, with a fresh set of events and challenges across the next seven days to close out the series.
Virtual Mexico has been experiencing a month-long summer mood — despite the changing seasons which tip into spring this week — as part of the Horizon Summer Party them.
Series 23 has seen a world makeover to bring the vibe, with new beach-themed decorations and objects at the Horizon Street Scene Outpost and the Horizon Stadium. These locations also feature heavily in the Playlists across the series.
One change against the theme is a permanent lengthening of the night-time hours. This follows a similar change in Series 19 which was well-received by the fans.
Among the new events this month is — for the second Series in a row — a new Horizon Story. “Icons of Speed” is a permanent addition to the game, featuring performance cars from across the decades, though only gives you playlist points if you complete it during S23.
There are of course Evolving World Accolades, for the Story and for collecting the five new vehicles available on the Playlist this month. You’ll also find others for engaging in activities at the Stadium, so make sure you don’t miss out before the makeover disappears.
Table of Contents
- Series 23: Summer Party
- Series 23 Spring/Hot Season Rewards
- Series 23 Spring Playlist: Forzathon Events
- Series 23 Spring Playlist: Season Events
- Series 23 Spring Playlist: Challenges
- Series 23 Spring Playlist: Monthly Events
- Series 23 Spring Bonus DLC Events
- Series 23 Spring Forzathon Shop
Series 23: Summer Party
There’s a strong V8 theme to the month, reflected in both the Weekly Challenges and the reward cars for this week and month.
Thanks to the large amount of points on offers this month, regular players will have already scored both of the Series reward cars — and probably during the Autumn Playlist — but in case you haven’t it’s well worth scrambling for the points.
A new, playlist-exclusive car appears at the lower 80-point threshold, with the DeBerti Ford Mustang GT DeBerti Design.
Handily known by its shortened name, the Mustang DD consists of a typically DeBerti wild widebody kit and a supercharged version of the already Roush-tuned, five-liter V8. 750hp certainly gives it the power to back up the looks.
Scoring 160 points will earn you the classic Dodge Super Bee, although it’s the American model rather than the more location-appropriate, A-body car sold in Mexico.
This performance variant of the two-door Coronet sports a seven-liter V8, developing almost 1hp per cubic inch without any help from forced induction at 425hp.
Series 23 Spring/Hot Season Rewards
Likewise it’s a pair of V8s in the seasonal Playlist rewards this week, although quite different in their applications.
Scoring 20 points will earn the new-to-game vehicle, which is the 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. You could consider this the ordinary sibling to the Hot Wheels car introduced earlier in the Series, but there’s not much ordinary about it.
It sports a monster 7.5-liter V8 engine — 455 cubic inches — but impending emissions regulations meant that it was a bit strangled and not long for the world. Officially it squeezes out just 290hp to the rear wheels.
Hit 40 points and you’ll pick up the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, which produces some very different figures.
The car takes its name from the brand’s 2019 Formula One car, and combines a four-liter V8 with three electric motors to produce almost 1000hp.
Spring will run through to 1430UTC on Thursday August 17, bringing Series 23 to a close along with it. Series 24, “Italian Automotive” will replace it, and we’ll find out more about this on Friday August 11.
Series 23 Spring Playlist: Forzathon Events
It’s the final V8 of the Series this week as the Forzathon Weekly Challenge heads west across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. Rather than American muscle, you’ll need to own and drive the 2015 Lexus RC F to get New and Improved underway.
The first task should be pretty easy as you’ll need to drive one mile in one minute in the car — at an average speed of 60mph. Once you’ve done that, head to the redecorated Horizon Street Scene Outpost and take a photo of the RC F.
Your final challenge is to score five Clean Racing Skills, each of which pops up for driving between a couple of checkpoints without hitting anything too hard, during any Street Races; it’s worth pairing that up with Tuesday’s Daily Challenge for efficiency.
Once you’ve completed that you’ll five Playlist points and 80 Forzathon Points — with the FP doubled if you own the Casa Solariega player house.
Weekly Challenge: New and Improved
- Car: Lexus RC F ’15
- Chapter 1: Own and drive the Lexus RC F ’15
- Chapter 2: Drive one mile in one minute in the Lexus RC F ’15
- Chapter 3: Take a photo at Horizon Street Scene in the Lexus RC F ’15
- Chapter 4: Earn five Clean Racing Skills in Street Races in the Lexus RC F ’15
- Reward: 5 points, 80FP
It’s one last set of seven Daily Challenges for the Series, with each unlocking in order at 1430UTC each day. You’ll have a full seven days to complete each one, even if it takes you into the next Series.
Prove you’re Looking Sharp to start with by equipping any full Outfit in the Character Customizer.
You’ll be Sitting Pretty next when you take a photo of any Hot Hatch at Playa Azul.
Earn six stars at any Drift Zones (double-up with the Rally Adventure PR Stunt this week) to complete Skid I Do That?
Be Toyota-lly Cool and drive three miles (4.8km) in any Toyota starting on Sunday.
Win any Street Race event in any Japanese vehicle to show you can Step on the Gas — and sadly the Lexus RC F doesn’t qualify as it’s classed as American…
However you can pair Keeping it Clean with the Weekly Challenge, as you’ll need to earn three Clean Racing Skills in a Street Racing event.
Round out the series with a Hi-Score when you complete round three of any Horizon Arcade event.
Daily Challenges
- August 10 – Looking Sharp: Equip any Outfit in the Character Customizer
- August 11 – Sitting Pretty: Take a photo of any Hot Hatch at Playa Azul
- August 12 – Skid I Do That?: Earn six stars at Drift Zones
- August 13 – Toyota-lly Cool: Drive three miles (4.8km) in any Toyota
- August 14 – Step on the Gas: Win a Street Race event in any Japanese vehicle
- August 15 – Keeping it Clean: Earn three Clean Racing Skills in any Street Racing event
- August 16 – Hi-Score: Complete round three of any Horizon Arcade event
Series 23 Spring Playlist: Season Events
It’s a second successive seven-event offering in the solo Playlist this week, as the list includes two Seasonal Championships, three PR Stunts, and the usual two EventLabs.
Mulege Street Circuit is another creation based at Arch of Mulege which once again heads across the river for a final section, because of course it does. However the route is pretty nicely decorated with Macau Guia Circuit vibes, and it’s good fun in the A Class (701-800PI) Retro Supercars; complete the laps to earn three points and a Super Wheelspin.
The Airplane Graveyard circuit is set over at Bahia de Plano and features mixed-surface (mainly dunes) racing through rocks and abandoned quad-prop cargo planes. There’s plenty of shortcuts and alternate routes, so grab something from your A Class (701-800PI) Super Saloons fleet with off-road capability to earn three points and a Hoonigan Escort.
All three PR Stunts remain as S2 Class (901-998PI) open events, with a Danger Sign, Speed Trap, and Trailblazer. Each offers the normal rewards of two points and a Super Wheelspin.
As you’d expect, the targets are beyond three star scores, but none are too challenging this week. You may have to work hard to get the 25-second goal at the La Marisma Trailblazer, picking your way through the forest at the start, but 350m at the Eagle’s Perch Danger Sign and 260mph at the Drag Strip Speed Trap should be a relative breeze.
Your Seasonal Championships are three-race events against Highly Skilled AI, each worth five points. The races start you in eighth place, regardless of results, so you’ll need to fight through the AI each time to score the points you need to top the points table at the end of the championship.
There’s a mix of paces but both events put you on the hard stuff. Number 1 Rule is a Street Race for B Class (601-700PI) Retro Saloons, awarding a Jaguar MkII, while The Little Things is a Road Race for C Class (501-600PI) Classic Rally and gifts a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette.
EventLab: Airplane Graveyard
- Car: A Class, Super Saloons
- Location: Bahia de Plano
- Challenge: Finish the race
- Reward: 3 points, Hoonigan Escort
EventLab: Mulege Street Circuit Open
- Car: A Class, Retro Supercars
- Location: Mulege
- Challenge: Finish the race
- Reward: 3 points, Super Wheelspin
Danger Sign: Eagle’s Perch
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Ek’Balam
- Challenge: 350m
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Speed Trap: Drag Strip
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Horizon Festival
- Challenge: 260mph
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Trailblazer: La Marisma
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Rio de la Selva
- Challenge: 25s
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Seasonal Championship: Number 1 Rule
- Car: B Class, Retro Saloons
- Location: Copper Canyon
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Jaguar MkII 3.8
Seasonal Championship: The Little Things
- Car: C Class, Classic Rally
- Location: Hotel Mirador
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Chevrolet Corvette ’09
It’s a pair of multiplayer events this week, each of which requires an Xbox Live subscription to access on console — with PC players having free multiplayer access.
Horizon Tour returns this week, with its Trial-lite format. In essence you will be paired up with five (or fewer) humans to race championship-style against a team of six Highly Skilled AI.
Each player on each team scores 100 points for every opponent they beat. However there’ nothing on offer for beating a team-mate. You will therefore need to work together to keep the AI behind as many of you as possible, while keeping each other as high up the rankings as you can.
Uniquely for the Tour you also need to drive from one race finish to the start point of the next, but there’s no reward for doing so. However there is a reward for winning overall: three points.
The Trial is in its usual, permanent place, and this week it’s a Dirt Racing event for A Class (701-800PI) cars from the 2010s.
As with the Tour it’s a team challenge, but this time it’s against Unbeatable AI Drivatars, and a best-of-three event. Get something that can deal with the mixed-surface racing and it should be a breeze to win in two, depending on how many team-mates do the same.
There’s ten points on offer along with an Opel Manta 400 for the team win.
Horizon Tour: Co-op Championships
- Car: Any
- Location: Horizon Tour (any)
- Challenge: Complete a Horizon Tour
- Reward: 3 points
The Trial: Seeing the Sights
- Car: A Class, 2010s
- Location: Pantano de la Selva
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 10 points, Opel Manta 400
Series 23 Spring Playlist: Challenges
Three Challenges await again this week, with The Eliminator joining the Treasure Hunt and the regular Photo Challenge.
You’ll need online multiplayer access for The Eliminator, which retains its usual requirements of a 30th place finish or better — often just a matter of surviving the opening few minutes without being challenge by another player. There’s two points and a Jaguar C-X75 for completing the task.
This week’s Photo Challenge, #DecoratedAndDeluxe, requires a classic 1932 Ford De Luxe Coupe. Head over to the Raul Urias Mural in Colinas Aridas — it’s on the south side of a building south-west of the stadium — and take a snap to earn two points and a Tiger Roar horn.
For the Treasure Hunt this week you’ll need to solve the clue: “Have a grand tour and cause some wreckage, after 10 times they might get the message.”
With the image showing a Bentley Continental GT, part of the GT Cars class, it should be a pretty obvious solve. Head out in any GT Car and earn ten Wreckage skills for smashing breakable objects.
Completing that will reveal the Treasure Hint — a red circle which appears on your map to show you roughly where the chest is located — which is around the Horizon Street Scene outpost this week.
You’ll need to look a little way north-west to find the chest, which is in one of two small fenced-off plots of land. Smash it to earn three points and 100FP.
The Eliminator: Battle Royale
- Cars: Any (provided)
- Location: The Eliminator, Valle de las Ranas
- Challenge: Finish 30th or better in The Eliminator
- Reward: 2 points, Jaguar C-X75
Photo Challenge: #DecoratedAndDeluxe
- Cars: Ford De Luxe Five Window Coupe ’32
- Location: Colinas Aridas
- Challenge: Photograph the Ford De Luxe ’32 at the Raul Urias Mural in Colinas Aridas
- Reward: 2 points, Tiger Roar Horn
Treasure Hunt: Rip and Tour
- Cars: GT Cars (any)
- Location: Any; Horizon Street Scene
- Challenge: Earn ten Wreckage Skills in any GT Car; find and smash the Treasure Chest
- Reward: 3 points, 100FP
Series 23 Spring Playlist: Monthly Events
It’s your final chance to tick off the Monthly events, which have remained in place all Series long.
All three events this month offer their points evenly distributed across the four seasons in the Series, regardless of when you complete them. That’s one point per season for the Rivals events and three for the Story.
The Icons of Speed Story has eight chapters, and you’ll need to score three stars in all of them to earn the maximum reward — but you will pick up a point-per-season for every eight stars you earn. This can only be done this Series, though the Story will remain part of the game in perpetuity.
Alongside that are the two usual Monthly Rivals events. In each case these requires a clean lap time in the combinations specified, using the cars provided to you for the task.
That means keeping it clean is the goal, and that won’t be easy. Arch of Mulege is a little too compact for the lairy Ford XB Falcon, and while the Toyota GR86 may be more nimble the Cathedral Circuit in Guanajuato is a death trap of tunnel walls and buttresses.
Horizon Story: Icons of Speed
- Cars: Provided
- Location: Playa Tranquila
- Challenge: Earn 24 stars on Icons of Speed Horizon Story chapters
- Reward: 12 points (3 added to each season)
Monthly Rivals: Cathedral Circuit
- Cars: Toyota GR86 (provided)
- Location: Guanajuato
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Monthly Rivals: Arch of Mulege Circuit
- Cars: Ford Falcon XB (provided)
- Location: Mulege
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Series 23 Spring Bonus DLC Events
Each of the two DLC expansion packs offers a further seven bonus points in each pack — a two-point PR Stunt and a five-point Seasonal Championship — for owners, as a boost if required. These aren’t needed for 100% playlist completion though.
This week Rally Adventure hosts a Drift Zone, Canyon Sweep, with a relatively gentle 132,000pt target. A canyon also features in Hot Wheels, but you’ll be jumping it for the Canyon Jump Danger Sign with a 450m target. Both are again quite gentle targets for the open category S2 Class (901-998PI) cars, and offer a Super Wheelspin.
Hot Wheels also hosts the Feel the Loops Seasonal, for S1 Class (801-900PI) cars from Porsche, with a Cayman as a bonus prize. Meanwhile it’s down to the Nitty Gritty in Rally Adventure, for B Class (601-700PI) Honda vehicles, and you’ll receive a Honda Hoodie.
Hot Wheels Danger Sign: Canyon Jump
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Hot Wheels Giant’s Canyon
- Challenge: 450m
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Hot Wheels Seasonal Championship: Feel the Loops
- Car: S1 Class, Porsche
- Location: Hot Wheels Forest Falls
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Porsche Cayman
Rally Adventure Drift Zone: Canyon Sweep
- Car: S2 Class
- Location: Sierra Nueva Senda de Montanana
- Challenge: 132,000pts
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Rally Adventure Seasonal Championship: Nitty Gritty
- Car: B Class, Honda
- Location: Sierra Nueva Bike Track
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Honda Hoodie
Series 23 Spring Forzathon Shop
It’s a supercar week in the Forzathon Shop this week, with two quite different ways of using technology to hit 200mph.
The line is led by the Porsche 959, a car originally developed by Porsche as an all-round Group B machine.
A supercar with off-road abilities, the 959 managed to claim victory in one of the toughest races on Earth in a 1-2 finish at the 1986 Dakar Rally. Sadly, by the time the car was ready and production models were coming on line for homologation, Group B met its end.
That didn’t stop Porsche from selling the turbocharged, all-wheel drive road car though, producing almost 300 across the various specifications — which included a 211mph “Sport” model.
McLaren’s 600LT is the other option this week. It’s based on the 570S supercar, but with extra power, less weight, and a slightly longer body to justify the LT — “longtail” — appellation.
You can pick up both cars in the Autoshow as usual, at 2m credits for the Porsche and 260,000cr for the McLaren. If you’ve got Forzathon Points burning a hole in your virtual pocket, they’re 700FP and 275FP respectively.
Other store items this week include the Snap! Emote and the Creative Tee at 75FP each. The Wheelspin (60FP) and a Super Wheelspin (150FP) occupy their regular spots.
See more articles on Forza Horizon 5 Season Change.
