Forza Horizon 5 Season Change: Off the Beaten Path

A brand new series kicks off this week in Forza Horizon 5. A fresh set of events are on hand, new cars are waiting to be claimed as well as new challenges and collectibles hidden across the festival over the next four weeks.

Dubbed "Explore the Horizon", the latest series puts exploration at the heart of its theme, encouraging players to venture into the deepest depths of the biomes around Mexico.

A new quartet of trucks are making their debut in Forza, with each one available for 20 points for each of their featured weeks, plus you’ll also receive a new Evolving World accolade for winning all four.

Series prizes are another pair of returning cars, giving players who previously missed them another chance to grab them for their collection.

80 points will get you the Wuling Sunshine, a small but important MPV coming out of China.

The Sunshine (also known as the Hongguang in its homeland), has proven very popular in lower income areas of China thanks to its basic approach to driving.

Anyone who wants a simple affordable car just to get from Point A to Point B without the need for expensive luxuries inside will be tempted by the Sunshine's eye catching price of just $5,000, especially when it comes with enough practicality to put much more expensive Western cars to shame.

Make the push for 160 points and you’ll win a German cruise missile in the 2021 Audi RS7.

The newest generation RS7 turns the aggressive styling up to a new level, thanks to a wider front track to improve handling.

Despite having 600hp on tap, the Audi bathes you in a high-quality luxury interior that lets you forget that you’ll be going deep into three-figure speeds when on the highway.

The first new truck to arrive this series comes from a familiar tuning house, with the DeBerti Design Ford F-250 Lariat "Transformer", coming in at 20 points.

DeBerti's latest extreme truck is based on a Ford F-250 Super Duty, but has received extensive modifications to conquer the outdoors.

One of the most unique features is the sides of the utility bed can raise up to reveal hidden tools for when you’re in the middle of nowhere.

There's plenty of power under the hood too, as the 6.7-liter V8 turbodiesel engine kicks out an almighty 850hp, and enough torque to plough through the hardest of terrain.

Something even more hardcore at 40 points is the Porsche Macan Rally Raid.

Built by LP Racing, this Macan was designed to race in the punishing Dakar Rally, and is about as tough as offroaders can get thanks to a strong tubular frame and a 5.0 liter V8 with 360hp.

Although the body resembles a Macan, the only thing this shares with the road car are the headlights, as everything else is completely bespoke.

An offroader that is more than capable of handling the brutal Mexican landscape stars in this weeks Forzathon, with the spotlight shining on the 1972 Land Rover Series III.

Head off to the races first to prove this old dog can still cut it by winning a Cross Country Series race in C Class. Find your nearest Trailblazer event after that, and get to the finish quickly to earn at least a two-star rating.

Last but not least, cause some chaos in the wilderness as you’ll need to use your Land Rover to earn an Ultimate Wreckage Skill. Finshing the weekly challenge will grant you 5 points for the playlist and 80 Forzathon Points, with double FP if you own the La Casa Solariega player house.

The seven Daily challenges will each be unlocked at one per day at 1430UTC, giving you a total of seven days to finish each one if you start now.

Your first task is to take a #Selfie by snapping a picture of your car with your avatar standing outside it.

Find a machine that's Built to Last, as you’ll need to earn a Wreckage Skill in a car from the Pickups & 4x4s category.

Afterwards, you’ll need to earn 2 stars in a Trailblazer to ensure you’re Finding the Way.

Complete any Expedition around the festival to gain more experience in Mexploration.

Show some thoughtfulness to other users by sending a Care Package gift drop to another player.

Head into the deep jungle in order to Ride and Seek out the hidden cave waterfall near Ek’Balam.

Finally for Summer, show your skills at Messing up the Place by earning a Great Wreckage Skill in a Playground Games event.

There's just six events on the playlist as a Showcase Remix joins a single Eventlab, along with a pair of PR Stunts and Seasonal Championships.

The two PR stunts are open to all categories up to S2 Class (901-998PI). Each will score you two points and award you with a Super Wheelspin upon completion.

At least the La Mesa Danger Sign should be relatively simple to achieve, as long as you have a fast car on dirt to make the 787ft goal. The Jungle Traversal Trailblazer will pose more of a challenge as you be speeding through some very dense forest to get the to the end goal with 15 seconds remaining.

Summer's traditional Seasonal Championships will put you through three races each, with a pair of bonus reward cars and five points each towards your playlist total. To claim the prizes, you’ll need to win each championship against Highly Skilled AI opponents.

Sick Dunes is all about A Class (701-800PI) Unlimited Off-road machines in this Cross Country Series event, with a 2020 Land Rover Defender 110X waiting as the prize. The dirt trails beckon in Cupra Formentor VZ5, using the new 400hp SUV in a one-make Dirt Racing Series championship. Top the points table and you’ll win a Cupra Race Suit.

The sole Eventlab is a wet one for A Class (701-800PI) Offroad Capable cars as you go from one end of the eastern beach to the other in Sand Bank Slalom Beach Party ’27. A Showcase Remix event sees you competing against a team of jetskis in Splash of the Titans, with the DeBerti Ford F-250 being provided as your weapon of choice

There's just the single multiplayer race with The Trial on offer. You’ll need an Xbox Live subscription to access the event on console, but you won't need one if you’re on PC.

This three-race championship will set you up with five other players to take on six Drivatars on Unbeatable difficulty.

Teamwork is an absolute imperative as you’ll only gain points by beating the AI opponents. You’ll each need to employ all of your skills to keep the AI behind you as well as avoiding tripping over each other, although that's much easier said than done.

Ad-van-ture Time is a Cross Country series championship for A Class (701-800PI) Sports Utility Heroes, so there's likely to be a lot of aggressive driving to try and beat the AI within two races. Win the trial and you’ll receive 10 playlists points and a Lamborghini LM002

The final three Challenges include a revamped Treasure Hunt, a Photo Challenge, and a Collectibles scavenge.

Where Wolf? will see you hunting for ten cardboard wolf cutouts hidden around Playa Tranquila. They should be easy to spot if you look for the giant googly eyes that adorn them. Once all ten are broken, you’ll be rewarded with three points and a Horizon Apex Predators Desert Scarf.

You’ll need to head north of Cascadas de Agua Azul for the Photo Challenge, where you’re not required to snap a car, but rather some wildlife near some camera equipment to complete #Donkey. Appropriately, you’ll also receive a "Donkey!!" Forza LINK greeting.

The Treasure Hunt gets revamped with the addition of Pathfinder challenges. You’ll need to uncover three trails around the map and follow the series of marker balloons to a finishing point.

You can use any car you want for this one, and you can find each of the trails in the Evolving World Accolades page under the Pathfinder tab. The first trail will start you near Tulum. Once you complete the trail, the next one will unlock south of Guanajuato near the Rocky Hills Speed Zone. The final Pathfinder will take you east from a starting point near the runways at the airstrip in La Selva.

Once you finish the final trail, the treasure chest will appear at your location, granting you a healthy 250,000 Credits and three Playlist points.

Two new Forza EV time trials are on the cards this week with two more debuting cars to try out.

Ek’Balam Cross Country Circuit will see you tearing up the scenery in the gigantic new GMC Hummer EV, whereas Emerald Circuit puts the new Cupra Tavascan Concept into your capable hands

Two pairs of bonus events in the expansion packs are also available, each offering a championship and a PR Stunt. Although not mandatory for 100% completion, they can offer some respite if the events on the main map are too tricky for you.

Both PR Stunts require an S2 Class (901-998PI) to use for the Danger Sign in Rally Adventure and the Speed Zone in Hot Wheels.

The La Cantera Danger Sign requires a hefty distance of 1,312.3ft, so you’ll need a car with plenty of power to make that jump. A 180mph pass at the fast and flowing Tree Tops Speed Zone in Hot Wheels should be of relative ease.

Each Seasonal Championship is worth five points for the three-race affairs. Orient Steering in Hot Wheels is all about B Class (601-700PI) Modern Rally with a Legacy Rewind car horn to be won. Too Hot 2 Handle in Rally Adventure puts B Class (601-700PI) Hot Hatches against each other, with the top prize being a Farid Rueda Race Suit.

A timeless classic from Mercedes and a huge American pickup are part of the Forzathon Shop, with the German taking the center stage.

The car in question is the Mercedes 300SL, nicknamed the Gullwing thanks to its vertical opening doors.

Seen as one of the best looking cars ever made, the Mercedes used clever aerodynamic design to become one of the fastest cars in the world in the 1950s. Providing that performance is a 3.0-liter straight six making 241hp.

The other slot is occupied by the Hennessey VelociRaptor 6X6, an already insane Ford F-150 Raptor that has become a monster thanks to the Texan tuner.

Along with the extra axle and six-wheel drive, the Raptor's V6 engine now puts out 600hp, which is needed in order to move this 6,700lb tank.

You can claim the Merc for 500FP and the Hennessey for 300FP, compared to their Autoshow prices of 1,200,000Cr and 350,000Cr respectively.

Other store items this week include the Take-Off Emote and Senkoe's Relaxed Fit Tee for 75FP each. The final two slots are taken up by a regular Wheelspin (60FP) and a Super Wheelspin (150FP).

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