After four weeks of retro-futurism, the next new series of Forza Horizon 5 will focus on modern cars, with Modern Horizons launching on Thursday, June 20.
The new series, its 35th to date, was revealed and discussed in Playground Games’ latest “Let’s Go” stream, ahead of the game update that accompanies it on June 18.
It’s mostly about the cars this month, as the map aesthetic returns to their standard form, but with 10 new cars (five free and sort of five in a new paid DLC pack) and some other new items there’s still a lot to get through .
Forza Horizon 5 series 35 new free cars
Two different vehicles take center stage in this series, and they represent either side of the ICE/electric car coin.
The only thing PG chose to illustrate the flow was the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, a new high-performance model based on the brand’s all-electric Ioniq 5, as it continues to expand its video game offering. It packs more than 600 hp – and closer to 640 hp for short periods – from a pair of electric motors, although curiously the official website post only gives the figures for the regular twin-motor AWD car.
Alternatively, there’s the Ford Mustang Dark Horse, which appears to be the cover car for the series. Apart from the GT3-based GTD, this is the new top dog (or horse, we suppose) in the Mustang range, offering 500bhp from a five-litre, naturally aspirated V8.
However, this does not apply to the progress in the series, because that honor goes to the Kia EV6 GT. This is a sibling to the Ioniq 5 N – and Kia’s de facto replacement for the Stinger as its sports GT offering. The underbody has been almost completely reworked compared to a regular EV6, to the point that it is almost a completely different car, matching the 5N to 100 km/h, despite the lower power of 577 hp.
Another performance EV comes from Porsche’s Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S, the station wagon brother of the 750-horsepower Taycan Turbo S sedan that appeared in the game at launch. Finally there is the long-awaited debut for the small Toyota GR Yaris, made as a homologation special for a rally car that – thanks to a change in the regulations – was never created in that form. It’s still an excellent hot hatch, though, with an adjustable AWD system that has two in-game settings.
Forza Horizon 5 Series 35 New Paid DLC Cars
Depending on your point of view, there are three or five cars in a new paid DLC pack, called “Universal Icons” and priced at $/€9.99. They all come straight from the big and small screen at Universal Pictures, and it’s an interesting selection.
The controversial one – or three – will be the most famous DeLorean in the world. It appears to carry the official and unwieldy name “Time Machine from Back to the Future” and is available in three of the car’s five forms.
They include the original version of Outatime from the first film, the custom car with Mr. Fusion power from the second (but it doesn’t fly), and the high-riding car rebuilt with 1950s components from the third. Whichever you prefer, when that baby hits 90 mph, you’ll see some… special effects.
Joining this will be a semi-sentient (and possibly the last good example of benevolent AI) Knight Industries Two Thousand – or KITT – complete with an additional ‘Hot Pursuit’ body kit and the slightly lesser known Jeep Wrangler Sahara from Jurassic Park. Fun fact: that is the only one in the selection in which someone was eaten alive.
Forza Horizon 5 series 35 collectibles and cosmetics
The Universal love-in continues with a new costume for all players to collect from this month’s playlist, in the form of a head-to-toe shark outfit. At least we assume it originated Jawsand not the Super Bowl star who marches to the beat of his own drum, Left Shark.
A Robot collectible will also appear in the playlist this month, which resembles a sports version of EVE from WALL-E if manufactured by Cupra. Starting this month, you can also add this to your EventLab creations.
In addition, EventLab will have a large number of highway sections added. There are a total of 17 new sections that allow you to simulate highways of your choice, all with a snap function.
Forza Horizon 5 Series 35 Other Changes
A small number of other changes are listed, the only specific one being the correction of a bug in the Volkswagen ID.4’s gear ratios. Otherwise, the update is about game stability.
You should be able to download the update and access the content – including the DLC pack – from around 1600 UTC on Tuesday, June 18. Series 35 itself goes live at 1430 UTC on Thursday, June 20.
PG has also teased Series 36, “Horizon Cars and Coffee,” which promises a small dose of caffeine to the July playlist.
Check out more articles about Forza Horizon 5 game updates.