It’s hard to believe but Series 7 of the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist fun is coming to an end. The concluding challenges are found in the Spring scene, as once again racers are tasked with partaking in all manner of events, PR stunts and seasonal championships. You may find that some of these are tricky to complete, which is hopefully where our full guide to the finest cars, tunes and tactics for Series 7 – Spring’s challenges comes in.
Part 1 – Weekly Challenge – Old Red
Ah, the Mayers Manx, the car that is credited with starting the whole buggy thing, based on a Beetle chassis. If you don’t have one, I have some bad news – you can’t buy this car, except in the Forzathon store where it is appearing for one week only.
Got 700 Forza Points burning a hole in your pocket? You’re in luck. Otherwise its keep your fingers crossed on the wheelspins time.
Chapter 1: Predecessor of all Buggies
However you acquire one, get in and drive it. One box ticked!
Chapter 2: Origin Story
Once you have the car, take it west and find the Baja California Trail Dirt Racing event – then win it!
I decided to do a little tuning, then got carried away, and ended up with: 613646280.
748 bhp and 195 mph? Why not!
Be warned: This is hysterically fast, and a lot of fun.
Chapter 3: Jumping Buggy
After the success of the last victory, we now have to fly our little buggy through the air. Not from a Danger Sign, as you might expect, but we have to earn three Kangaroo skills in the Dunas Blancas area of the map.
Just drive fast and jump lots. Tick.
Chapter 4: Buggy Beats Bike In Baja
Lastly, a Speed Trap challenge, where we have to get two stars on the Dustbowl Speed Trap. Two stars translates into passing the camera at 100mph.
Approaching from the North seemed easiest, and this was blasted into the rear view mirror with no difficulty. Don’t worry about sticking to the road either.
Part 2 – Weekly Challenges
Series 7 – Spring challenges pretty much follow-in from that which came before it. We’ve got a Trial Blazer, a Drift Zone, The Trial and multiple Seasonal Championships – rewards are attached to each and every one. Thankfully there’s only one Eventlab to bother us.
Eventlab – DAVELEDAVE Presents Guanajuato Racetrack
Regular readers of my witterings will know how much I enjoy these stupid events, but at least this time we are competing for a decent prize.
We need to use an Extreme Track Toy, tuned to S2 Class 998 , and so I used what I had available, which turned out to be a very expensive bit of kit – the Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro. The share code is 135491939.
If you can think of a less appropriate place to put a 250mph, 2,000,000 Credit car than a tight twisty urban track with tunnels, then please, let me know.
At least we win a car for our efforts, a Donkervoort no less.
The Trial – Fiesta. Siesta. Repeat.
This is going to be an interesting challenge, being restricted not only to a C Class 600, but also to a rare classic category of vehicle.
There’s not many to choose from, in all honesty, and I went with British beauty at its best in the shape of a Jaguar E-Type. The share code is: 749596800.
Of course, success in this event isn’t down to you alone, and a good team, should you be lucky enough to find one, will be a big help.
A Bentley 8 Litre is yours should you win.
Seasonal Playground Games – Airs and Graces
Another week, another invite to take part in the Playground games.
This time the car is restricted to A Class 800, and M-Sport Vs Turner? Not sure why anyone wouldn’t go with an M5 in this case, so that’s what I did. In fact the 2018 M5 doesn’t even need any tuning, so it’s a cheap choice as well.
A Fireworks horn is yours when you complete the events, win or lose.
Trail Blazer – La Marisma
This Trailblazer is a pain, as finding the right route through is key to success in a fast car, never mind a B Class 700 Renault.
We have to make it with 14 seconds left on the clock, and while that is do-able, it won’t be easy.
I used a Clio R.S. and its share code is 262870774. The key seems to be staying out of the water as much as you can, as it will slow you down.
Your prize? A Super Wheelspin, what else?
Drift Zone – Panoramica
Drifting in a Rally Monster car should be as easy as falling off a log, and so it proves in this event. We have to hit a score of 70,000 in an S1 Class 900 car, and so the hunt was on.
Drifting a Rally Monster car only leads me to one place, an old Escort, and so I grabbed the Hoonigan Escort in order to pull this off. Share code is 264985022.
Another Super Wheelspin for a bit of sliding? Go on then!
Seasonal Championship – Baja Mil
Here we need a buggy tuned to a max of D Class 500. I used a Baja Bug, and the share code is 172938522.
You know the drill by now, highly skilled driverbots, win three races (or best two out of three if you are in a convoy) and carry on regardless.
You’ll win a Festival Sombrero should you triumph. Makes it all worthwhile, eh?
Seasonal Championship – Inspiration from Japan
A Toyota car is needed, to a maximum of C Class 600. I chose a lovely little Celica GT4 ST205, reasoning that whatever the races were, AWD would be an advantage. You want a share code? 861264673.
Winning the races will net you a nice Toyota 2000GT, so it’s well worth persevering.
Seasonal Championship – First Come, First Served
It’s another C Class 600 championship this time, but in a Buick. There’s not a huge choice of cars that fit this bill, and I chose a Regal GNX, mainly because it was the baddy, Chick Hicks, in the Pixar movie Cars.
I tuned it a tad (as it is not far off the limit) and the share code is 163919768.
Winning will net you the “La Cucaracha” horn, which seems wrong somehow, but there you go.
Part 3 – Other Challenges
You know the drill – stop worrying about finishing placements and get that camera out for some Photo Challenge opportunities…
Photo Challenge – #SLEEPINGGIANTS
Take a photo of a truck, sleeping or not, in the surroundings of Atlantes de Tula.
For those of you not familiar with Mexico, this is located in the kind of middle bottom of the map. See the attached map for its exact location, and my attempt at being artistic.
A Sleepy emote is your reward for doing it.
The Eliminator – Battle Royale
The usual rules apply here, finish in the top 30 of the Eliminator to win a prize.
I have still yet to win a round, and this makes me sad as it is the only achievement I don’t have for Forza Horizon 5.
Still, hide in a bush or go looking for trouble, whatever you prefer, just don’t get knocked out too soon.
A Forzalink phrase “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” is yours should you survive long enough.
Horizon Open – Small and Agile
Last up is the now traditional Open Racing challenge. This week, we need to perform three pass skills in a Volkswagen, in a custom race.
With the wide range of race types and classes it is impossible to recommend you a tune, but good luck with whatever you select!
Series 7 of Horizon 5’s Festival Playlist challenges finishes pretty well with the Spring offerings. Following our guide should help you gather up enough points for a host of reward cars too, with the usual Series 7 mainstays of the Ferrari SF90 for 80pts and the Ferrari 599 GTO for 160pts, pretty much in your pocket. Spring drops in the F8 Tributo ‘20 for 20pts and the M-B 300SL for 40pts too. Make sure you grab those and add them to your car collection. If you need a few extra points, drop in for the Daily Challenges and ensure you’ve completed the Monthly Rival Event that tasks you with completing a single clean lap around the Playa Azul circuit – it’s a cinch.
Series 8 of Forza’s Festival Playlist challenges will be here before you know it, with the teams behind it promising a focus on German Automotive Excellence. Porsche and Mercedes cars look to be front and center, as will a load of new events. Pop back here and we’ll have them all covered in a guide to Series 8 soon.
Just remember, to play Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC, you’ll need to visit the Xbox Store. It’s freely downloadable through Game Pass.
The comments are below if you wish to let us know which of our tunes helped you out.
