Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges Guide Series 9 – Summer

It’s time for Series 9 of the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges to get underway and this time around it’s all about having fun with the Hot Wheels brand. 

In fact, Series 9 celebrates all things Hot Wheels, with new cars, events and cosmetics becoming available for those looking to take in the fun and creativity that the brand allows. It also means new rewards, with Series 9 – Summer delivering a host of new challenges for players to enjoy. And that’s where we come in, providing you with the best cars and fastest tunes that you’ll need in order to complete the challenges on offer. 

Part 1 – Weekly Challenge – Stars & Stripes

The traditional (is nine seasons enough to make a tradition? I think so) opener to any season is the Weekly Car Challenge. And the car this week is a classic, made famous by Burt Reynolds and his moustache in Smoky and the Bandit – the 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

And no arguments please: It has to be black with the gold eagle on the bonnet (or the hood as Americans wrongly call it).

Chapter 1:  Modern Classic

Part with a mere 45,000 credits, jump and take ‘er for a spin. Step one done.

Chapter 2: Movie Star

For this step, we have to get into the Bandit’s shoes, and earn one star at the Boardwalk Danger Sign.

Nice and easy, but to help I tuned my example up a tad to A Class, with a share code of : 167246741.

Chapter 3: American Style

Next up – beat any Rivals ghost in any Rivals event. I chose a drag race, as it would all be over quickly. If you can find a friend with a dirty time, even better!

Chapter 4: Designed for Action

Given that American cars traditionally don’t go around corners, trying to earn three stars at a drift zone may be a tad tricky. However, the Giro Encorvado drift zone is very short and only needs 30,000 points for a 3 star score, so I’d hit that one if I was you.

As it is cumulative, you’ll soon have the stars banked.

And job done, till next week at least.

Part 2 – Weekly Challenges

Now we get into the meat and drink of the weekly fun and games, the actual challenges. With photos to take, Trail Blazers to, er, blaze and races to win, there’s something for everyone this wet season. Let’s jump in feet first and see what’s in store!

Eventlab – VaporizedCamel Presents The Calderacoaster

Another week, another Eventlab event, and boy do I look forward to these.

We need to grab our favourite Rally Monster, tuned to A Class 800, and let rip on the track. I went with an Exomotive Exocet Off Road Forza Edition car, and bone stock worked just fine.

This course is a real pain to drive, especially if you use the front bumper view like I do, as it is almost impossible to see where the track goes on long bends, but keep trying and you’ll get there.

Your prize will be a Penhall Cholla, so it’s not all bad.

The Trial – Muscle Mania

Ah, the Trial, the weekly race for masochists and those who want to think nothing but pure thoughts about their fellow man.

This week, the Unbeatable Driverbots have to be tamed in a Modern Muscle car, tuned to a maximum of A Class 800. I went with a Shelby GT500 (after all if someone says muscle, you think Mustang, right?) and the share code is : 402868577.

Winning in this championship (assuming the gaming gods smile on you and give you a half decent team) will net you a Corvette from 1970, which is nice.

Danger Sign – Cannonball

Take a Super GT car, to a maximum of A Class 800, and fling it off a ramp into the wild blue yonder.

This week, the distance needed to cover is a mere 225m, which is further than the old three star distance. I went with an Aston Martin DB11, on the grounds that you might as well look good while jumping, eh? 

The share code is : 723867622, and the thing to watch is the first bit of dirt off the road, as a hop here can really eat into the distance the car will jump. Around 180 mph will do it.

Nailing it will get you the usual Super Wheelspin.

Speed Trap – Pequeno Puente

A Speed Trap, in a Dodge Charger from 2015, tuned to A Class 800? What could go wrong?

We need to blast past this camera at 145 mph for the seasonal challenge, and so the challenge is set. The Hellcat – as it is also known – isn’t a shy car, but it handles like its wheels are made of butter in stock trim, so I tweaked it a little to make : 182901078.

Top tip is to start at the top of the big hill to the north of the trap.

Another Super Wheelspin for speeding? Why not!

Trail Blazer – Quebrada

This is an interesting proposition as we have no restriction on car, except that the base cost must be less than 25,000 credits, and the maximum tune is only a B Class 700.

Now, there are not many cars that are so cheap, but luckily the Volkswagen Desert Dingo is, so that was my base. I tuned it up to a B Class, and the share code is : 335106110.

This is properly hard this week, and any little mistake will cost you, so try to stay out of the river and on your wheels, and you should just squeak it. If you’re struggling though, an alternative option may be to go for the Toyota Celica ST185 with a share code of 993344317. You may have more luck. 

Another Super Wheelspin should be adequate recompense for the amount of time it will take.

Seasonal Championship – Swamp Rally

Any Mitsubishi you like, as long as it’s only B Class 700.

Mutsubishi = Evo, in my admittedly simple mental maths, and so I took an Evo VIII MR, and the share code is 141172186. This saw me through but was a bit of a battle!

A Dodge Charger 15 – the one you need for the Speed Trap challenge – will be yours if you win.

Seasonal Championship – Asphalt Assault

Track Toys this time, to a maximum of S1 Class 900. Track toys is a pretty broad umbrella, and since this is onroad, I went for something with a bit of pace. My steed of choice was the Widowmaker itself, the Porsche 911 GT2 Rs from 2012, lightly tuned to try and make it slightly less lethal. My share code is 129256081

Taking some brave pills and pedalling this thing to victory will get you a very nice Plymouth Cuda.

Seasonal Championship – Thrill Racers

This is a bit of a misnomer surely, with the cars being restricted to Sports Utility Heroes to a maximum of A Class 800. Not awfully thrilling, I feel, but it is what it is.

I went with my old favourite, the world’s ugliest car, the Bentley Bentayga. No point slumming it, is there?

The share code is 118484657, and if you win the three races, or best two out three in a convoy, the prize will be a Hot Wheels Boneshaker. Just in time for the Hot Wheels expansion down the road!

Part 3 – Other Challenges

This week there are only a couple of extra bits and bobs to achieve, including a Treasure Hunt and a photo to take…

Photo Challenge – #MUDRUNNER

Very straightforward this week – Take a photo of a Hot Hatch, at the Horizon Wilds outpost. What could be simpler?

I’ll put my picture and the location below for inspiration/ridicule.

Treasure Hunt – Flying Customs

What is a new season without a Treasure Hunt, eh? The clue this week reads “Stingrays can fly? Get your coins ready to get up high for a round complete”. 

The picture shows an old skool Corvette Stingray 427, and I’m guessing that “round complete” means a Horizon Arcade round, maybe with an air theme? Depending on your luck, this may be a quick process, or a lengthy one, as we need the right round to appear.

When you have met the criteria ,the Treasure chest will appear in the Dunas Blancas area in the area below I have shown. I am reading chatter on the old interwebs that the chest may be invisible, so good luck.

As Series 9 kicks off, you’ve also got the opportunity to involve yourself in a couple of new Monthly Rivals challenges. The standard ‘post a clean lap to complete’ objective is in place for both, as you get the chance to race around the Chihuahua Circuit or in the Forza EV challenge, across the Horizon Mexico Circuit. Completing each will immediately drop 4pts into your Series bag. 

And what do points make? Car prizes – Series 9 has a couple running throughout and should you earn 80pts through the Series, you will be treated to the joys of the Hot Wheels Twin Mill. Picking up 160pts will see you adding the Ferrari Dino to your garage. 

Of course, there are the individual season ones too, with Summer rewards of the 2JetZ for 20pts and the Aventador J for 40pts. Each of those should be easily obtainable if you follow our guide from above. 

You’ll get the chance to earn more points as the Autumn, Winter and Spring seasons pass through too – next up in Series 9 – Autumn will be the Barracuda for 20pts and the NIO EP9 for 40pts. Stay tuned for our guides on how to earn those next week.

For now, if you want to get involved in some fun with Forza Horizon 5 and the new Hot Wheels content, then you’ll find the game playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC. You’ll need to visit the Xbox Store to download it, but seeing as it’s free through Game Pass, there’s no excuse.  

The comments are below – we’d love to know if our tunes have helped you out.