It is the most exciting time of the month as a new Series launches into Forza Horizon 5. And Series 24 has a distinctly Italian flavour. Which is handy as I really like Italian food!
Yes, for the first time since Forza Horizon 4, there are going to be some Italian manufacturers and cars returning to the means streets of Mexico, as Lancia, Fiat, Abarth and Alfa Romeo arrive.This is apparently due to some licensing issues being sorted, and it also means that there is a grand total of sixteen new cars appearing. These will be available in the Autoshow as well as being prizes for the weekly challenges, so fill your boots!
But that is not all. In Forza Horizon 5 we can now store up to 2000 cars in our garage, which is a change I am pleased to see! We can also have 1000 individual tunes stored, which is again good news. I just wish there was a way to search through all my tunes…
And finally, a new Italian Exotics car pack is available, bringing seven new swanky cars to the game, in exchange for some of your hard earned real world pennies that is!
But most importantly, the arrival of Series 24 Summer sees the introduction of new Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges and events. And that’s what we are here for, with a host of cars and tunes that will help you complete those events with ease.
Let’s get cracking… Ciao!
Part 1: Weekly Car Challenge -Taking Abarth
The subject of this week’s car challenge, is perhaps unsurprisingly, an Italian stallion.
Although maybe it is more of an Italian Shetland Pony?
Yes, it is the tiny Abarth 595 esseesse. And yes, that is a silly name!
If you don’t have one in your garage (and I don’t see how you could have, since it was only released today) it will cost you a mere 35,000 credits from the Autoshow. They look good in white, I think…
Chapter 1 – 595
Get in your new car, take it for a spin. Step one complete!
Chapter 2 – A Bug’s Life
Reverse engineered from a VW, apparently, it would go some way to explaining its rear engine. Now we need to win three stars at trailblazers in it, and stock trim will not do.
I tuned mine a tad, giving it 668 bhp in a car weighing 500 kg, so it is pretty brisk! Look for tune name 595 in association with my GT, Red620Ti.
Chapter 3 – Pretty Good
Now we need to paint our car’s body to complete this step. To the Festival with you!
Chapter 4 – Cinquecento
Finally, to see if the 595 esseesse can win us over, we have to take it for a five mile jaunt. Hit the highway, go cross country, you choose!
And with that, the weekly car challenge is complete, and we are five points nearer to the new cars on offer in Series 24 this time around.
Part 2: Weekly Challenges, Championships and PR Stunts
The party is over, and now we need to embrace our Italian lifestyle. Hopefully this doesn’t mean we need to buzz about on Vespas! Let’s jump straight in and see what tunes I can offer to help with the new season…
The Trial – Maser Party
The Trial this week restricts us to certain car, and if the name of the race doesn’t give it away, that car is the Maserati GT-S.
We have a tuning limit of A Class 800, so that’s what I hit. Search for Maser in conjunction with my GT since I can’t have a share code the same day as I make the tune any more!
Hoping against hope, but maybe you will find people who are interested in racing. Although that is getting increasingly tricky. The Trial is all about teamwork, no?
Should we manage to win two out of three races, a lovely Alfa Romeo GTA will be yours as a reward. Nice and new!
Eventlab 1 – SUBIE156 Presents Forest Mountain Circuit [No AI]
For this Eventlab, we need to use an Italian Retro supercar tuned to only A Class 800, and so I went with the classic Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV. Share code is: 797737461.
Same car as last week, economy fans!
The track layout is very good, with a mix of high and low speed corners to keep you on your toes. The S Bend just before the start/finish line is a doozy!
All in all, the course has a nice flow to it.
The prize for completing this race is a Ferrari 488 GTB
Eventlab 2 – TORQUEDEMONZ Presents Beachtown Scramble
For this challenge, we need an Italian Rare Classic, and the list isn’t massive, being pretty much the Lamborghini Miura P400 or the Ferrari 365 GTB/4. Choose either in stock trim to complete this race. These fit in nicely with the B Class 700 restriction too.
This is a good track layout ruined by the choice of cars – why a Ferrari when we could have used a Lancia Delta for a wet, off road course?
But hey, a Hoonigan Escort will be yours for completing the course. How lucky!
PR Stunt 1 – Danger Sign -Mountain Top
We are back to using S2 Class cars for the PR Stunts this week, and so it may be time to let some old faves run amok. However, we have to make sure our choices are Italian!
As the runup to this Danger Sign is off road, I reasoned that AWD would be beneficial, and went with a Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4. Do a search for “770” in conjunction with my name, Red620Ti, to find mine.
Hitting the ramp at 180mph saw me clear it easy.
A Super Wheelspin? It’ll do.
PR Stunt 2 – Speed Trap – Los Arboles
Speed requires a quick car, obviously, and with the target for this being 180 mph, I stayed in the same Lambo from above. Approaching from uphill is easier, but the twists and turns make this tricky.
Another Super Wheelspin awaits.
PR Stunt 3 -Speed Zone – Switchbacks
Same class of car, but a different challenge this time – let us drive to an average speed!
115 mph to be precise, and while this sounds slow, the clue is in the name of the zone – many sharp bends makes this another challenge. Weirdly, it seems easier running up the hill!
Yet another Super Wheelspin to add to the pile.
Seasonal Championship 1 – Yellow vs Red
In this championship, the challenge is to take either a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, tune it to S1 Class 900, and then win a street race championship. Simples, right?
I went with an old favourite, the Ferrari 812 Superfast. The share code for mine is : 261040765.
For winning outright solo, or best two out of three in a convoy, we can take home a Lambo Diablo SV. Just like the one that was crashed on Top Gear!
Seasonal Championship 2 – This Way Up
We need another Maserati for this set of races, but a Levante this time, and the tuning ceiling is B Class 700. As a default, the car is at 696, so I went with a stock car.
We can walk away with another prize for winning, a car horn that is the Announcer Countdown. Woo.
Part 3: Other Challenges
There’s always more to get involved in than just the racing, and that is the case again this week. There’s the Photo Challenge and the Treasure Hunt. But there’s also some Horizon Arcade fun and some Horizon Open racing.
Photo Challenge – #SHOWOFF
We need a Ferrari, and we need a snap of it in Guanajuato. Sounds easy enough, right?
I’ll post the location and my artistic effort below. Can you do better? Do you have a dinosaur outfit? You NEED a dinosaur outfit to even consider getting through life.
The reward? A new Raul Urias Jumper.
Treasure Hunt – The Grand Tour
The clue this week reads “Taking a trip from Mulege to Guanajuato in your Maserati is bound to uncover some hidden gems” Sounds pretty straight forward this week!
Going for a spin in my GT-S seems to have done the trick. It’s a fair old way, but as soon as you hit the town outskirts the task is complete.
I’ll post the location of the treasure chest below. It contains 100FP.
Horizon Open – Slip ‘N Slide
We need to get our drift on this week, and in order to win we need to score three Ultimate Drift or E-Drift Skills in the Horizon Open Drifting. Easy, right?
Well, you’ll have to pick your own car as it could be any class, but the Hoonigan Twerk Stallion is good for A Class, and the Formula Drift Mk IV Supra for S1 Class will do you proud.
The prize for completing this is a Portofino from 2018.
Horizon Arcade
We need to complete all three rounds of a Horizon Arcade mini game this week, be it Speed, Drift, Chaos, Wreckage or Air. Pick your best event and go nuts!
Drift is obviously the way to go, and the Formula Drift MkIV Supra will let you complete all the events solo if needs be.
The rubbish reward? A measly three points to the weekly total.
Part 4: Hot Wheels Events
If you have the Hot Wheels expansion and are an Elite Level player, then you get to enjoy a couple of extra events.
Seasonal PR Stunt – Speed Trap – Forest Edge
S2 Class again, but this time we need to use an Extreme Track Toy to hit over 250 mph, which is a big ask. I used a Bugatti Divo, share code: 169915677 to do it, and approaching from the south was the best way.
A Super Wheelspin is your reward.
Seasonal Championship – Nexus of Speed
Surprisingly, we need an Italian car for these races (I’m detecting a pattern here) and the tunes are to a maximum of S2 Class 998. Well, might as well use the Divo from above, no? It is pretty rapid after all.
However, it appears what it isn’t is Italian! So, I went with a stock Ferrari FXX-K Evo, which is equally fast.
Winning all the races, or two out of three in a convoy, will get us a new car – a Lamborghini Miura
Part 5: Rally Adventure Events
The Rally Adventure expansion brings even more events to the roster and provided you are already a Horizon Badlands champion, you’ll get access to…
Seasonal PR Stunt – Speed Zone -Reservoir View
We need to use yet another Italian car here, but this time tuned to A Class 800. The target is an average of 80 mph, so I went with the same Maserati GT-S I used for The Trial.
The prize is another Super Wheelspin.
Seasonal Championship – Midnight Run
For this series of races, we’re looking at an AWD car, tuned to a maximum of A Class 800.
I went with the old faithful Mitsubishi Evo VII MR, and the share code is : 155014585.
For winning out, we can take away a new bit of clothing – a Badlands Desert Scarf.
With Series 24 just fresh off the press, the cars for the Month are quite nice. For 80 points, we can have a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, while 160 points will see us walk away with a Ferrari 512 Testa Rossa
The new monthly Rivals challenges are here too. Grab some clean laps around the Horizon Mexico circuit, or complete a clean run of the Volcan Sprint route to earn 4 points apiece. Every little helps but you’ve got the full Series to get these completed. No rush. At least not yet.
Grab enough points and Series 24 Summer will also see you gifted with the exclusive Alfa Romeo 155 for 20 points, and for 40 points we can get a Lancia Delta S4, another exclusive car. Two in a week!
To enjoy these events in the Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges, you’ll need a copy of Forza Horizon 5. It’s available on Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and on the cloud via mobile. The Xbox Store will sort you out with a download.
So what do you think of our tunes and cars? Have they helped you out a little? Do you have something better, faster, sexier? Let us know in the comments. We’ll be back next week with a guide for Series 24 Autumn. Then Winter. Then Spring. Will these never end…?
