With the end of Forza Horizon 5’s Series 3 season taking place, the scene is now set for a whole new take on the racing to take place and that comes with the imaginatively named Series 4 that is now upon us. Subtitled Horizon World Cup, this promises to not only bring a series of new cars to the game (including some from China, that well known automotive powerhouse), but also new clothes, events and even a new competition. But it’s the challenges which were are here for and this article will helpfully guide you through everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 Series 4 – Summer.
The World Cup is worth touching upon first, as it promises to reward players who complete the weekly championships and so on with a card from a participating nation, which will in turn score points for that nation. Cars from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK or the USA will be eligible, so I guess all my tunes will have to be for British cars, eh? Since I don’t care about football, but do care about cars, I want to see the UK win this one.
But anyways, here we go and let’s kick off with the first season of Series 4, Summer!
Part 1 – The Weekly Challenge – Triathlon of Racing
For this event, we have to choose a car from one of the nations participating in the World Cup, which I detailed above. For me, it has to be the UK, and so I chose that most British of cars, the Jaguar MK II 3.8 1959. What could be more evocative of a time when British cars were held in high regard?
After choosing the car, we have to win a Road Circuit event in it, and so I performed a little light tuning to make it competitive. Nothing too crazy, just up to an A Class 800, and the share code is: 180570117.
For the circuit itself I chose Emerald Circuit because it is nice and compact. After this, A Dirt Scramble race is next on the list, and I chose Caldera Scramble. Because I made this motor a 4wd beast, the same tune was good enough to win, albeit with some hairy moments.
The final race in the trilogy is, as expected, a Cross Country event. I chose the Urban Cross Country event, again as it is fairly short, and again the old Jag acquitted itself pretty well. You just have to ignore the “CRUNCH” as it lands after the jumps!
Winning will give you 5 points towards Summer’s weekly prizes of cars.
Part 2 – Weekly Championships
These championships again feature the countries in the World Cup, so choose from any one of six countries to take part.
Championship 1 – Sky’s the Limit
In this Championship, we are limited to a C Class 600 car, and it needs to be tuned for Road Racing. I went with the only British car that is eligible – an E-Type Jaguar from 1961. One of the most beautiful cars of all time but how it will fare in a race against a Clio Williams, for instance, it may be a bit challenging.
Still, my tune share code is 749596800.
The prize for winning all the races is a Nissan Skyline GT-R 1993, which is one of my all-time favourite cars. In fact, I think it’s possibly one of everyone’s favourite all-time cars. Let me know in the comments if it is yours.
Championship 2 – Off Track
This time around the Championship is a Dirt Racing themed one, and again, we are limited to a C Class 600.
There is a limited choice of cars available, and the only British one is a Mini, the John Cooper Works 2009 model to be precise. I guess it’s a small hatchback event?
Surprisingly, the plucky Mini is very good out of the box, and with nothing more than an obscene body kit, it is able to win quite comfortably.
The share code for my car is 140783690 and winning the championship (three races if solo, or best two out of three if in a convoy) will net you a Renault Megane R26.
Championship 3 – Turbo Charged
Once again, we’re looking at a C Class 600 car, and this time it is a Cross Country set of races.
Being British and Off Road, there’s only one choice, isn’t there? It’s a Land Rover. However, as it needs to be a turbocharged car, it’s the newer Defender 110 X that gets the nod, the 2020 model.
The share code for my tune is 155625100.
This time around, victory will get you a nice reward, a Porsche Macan Turbo ‘19.
Part 3 – Weekly Challenges
This time around, the PR stunts seem to have taken a back seat, with the usual challenges noticeable by their absence. Instead, we are challenged to do other things, but they are still fun so you’ll want to crack on through Forza Horizon 5’s Series 4 Summer challenges…
Challenge 1 – Opening Ceremony
This is a remix of the Monster Truck Showcase, and challenges you to beat the massive hulking machines in a tiny off road buggy. Winning will give you the Announcer Countdown car horn – oh yeah!
In a nice little bonus, completing this race will also net you an extra accolade “Record Scratch, Freeze Frame”, worth 250 accolade points and will also give you the “I guess you’re wondering how I got here…” Forzalink phrase.
The race itself is pretty easy, to be honest, and shouldn’t give you any trouble.
Challenge 2 – Temple of Doom 2: Circuit
This is a special circuit designed for the Event Lab, and has to be completed in a Modern Rally Car, Class B 700. I went with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR from 2004. Why? Evo, innit.
The share code for the car is 141172186 .
You’ll need a lot of handbrake usage to make it around, and a pro tip from someone who’s not a pro (but would love to be) is to watch out for the chicane at the end of the lap. It’s a bit tight!
For winning, you will gain a lovely Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 from 1995.
Challenge 3 – Ahead of the Game
This is the weekly Playground Games entry, where we have to take part in up to five events to see which team can come out on top.
The car is limited to a C Class 600 Dirt Racing car, and so of the choices available to us, I chose the same Mini as I used earlier, in the Off Track Championship. It makes a decent fist of the Playground Games too, it turns out!
Share code is 140783690 in case you’ve forgotten.
The reward for completing the Games is the Land Rover Velar, so well worth doing as you get the car whether you win or lose.
Part 4 – Other Challenges
This is the bit of the weekly event that can be either super easy, or sometimes super hard. Luckily, the Photo Challenge this week is fairly easy.
Photo Challenge – #Countrysports
This is pretty straightforward: get in a Chevrolet Camaro Super Sport 1969, drive to Tierra Prospera fields, and snap away!
I’ll show you where I was and the photo result to help you get this one.
Getting this one right will give you the “Breaking Shatter” car horn.
Rivals Challenge – Estadio Circuit
In this challenge we get to take one of the new cars that have been added for a spin, the Nio EP9.
A Chinese rival to the incredible Rimac Concept 1, it arrived at the party packing a scarcely credible 1360 horsepower, a comfortable 160 more than the Rimac. Of course, the Rimac Concept 2 has now arrived to spoil the fun with a round 2000 BHP, but for a while, the EP9 was the fastest electric car around the Nurburgring.
And it’s not a bad looking machine either, to be fair…It certainly goes like a stabbed rat, that’s for sure! Scoring a clean run around the circuit will get you a lovely warm feeling as you hoon around and save the planet at the same time.
As always, taking part in the challenges and earning points in this Series 4 – Summer set of events will award a couple of cracking cars. For 25 points you will get the Nio EP9, and for 40 points you can get the Hoonicorn v2. Both are well in reach should you be able to nail the events above.
Those points also go towards the full Series 4 goodies – this time around those cars being the Epic Saleen S7 for 100pts and the Koenigsegg Jesko (a Legendary one at that) for 160pts.
Of course, you’ll need the base game of Forza Horizon 5 to hand on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC in order to take part in the Series 4 – Summer events, but with that on Game Pass and available from the Xbox Store, there’s next to no reason why you shouldn’t have a copy in your digital library.
What’s next after Series 4 – Summer concludes? Well, we head straight into Series 4 – Autumn and the chance to win the Rare Wuling Sunshine (yeah, we’re not sure either) and the Legendary Rimac Concept 2. Stay tuned for full details on those soon.