Centered on the 1980s, the series is a chance to look back at a time when everything was looking forward to the present day. It's safe to say that they didn't get it all quite right…
However it's still a neat bit of time travelling to the era where Tron was the most visually advanced movie out there, and wedges were cars and not potatoes.
The aesthetics — which even extend to a new opening movie for the game, alongside a chunk of the main highway — play second fiddle to the five new cars available this series, each rooted in the era or inspired by it.
Series 34: Horizon Retrowave
He didn't design the first of the two, but then he did design the car from which it draws inspiration. That was the 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe Concept, and this is the 2022 Hyundai N Vision 74.
It's a modern interpretation of that original, and comes with a very futuristic powertrain comprising a hydrogen fuel cell stack and a pair of electric motors on the rear axle. This technically makes the 671hp EV a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car.
That's something it shares with the second vehicle, which very much is a Giugiaro original. Designed soon after the Pony, the DeLorean DMC-12 is — despite all its flaws — one of the most famous cars ever made.
A starring role as one of the coolest time machines ever in the Back to the Future movie series is responsible for that, even if the car itself was previously known for sluggish performance and no small amount of infamy around the company CEO.
Series 34 Winter/Dry Season Rewards
For 20 points this week you'll be able to score another Giugiaro golden-age car in the shape of the Lotus Esprit Turbo.
This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Lotus took its ultra-cool Esprit — itself made famous by a neat bit of marketing that saw it replace James Bond's Aston Martin and turn into a submarine — and stuck a turbocharger onto it. That increased power by one third, to a whole 210hp.
Alongside that there's another chance to pick up the homologation special Honda NSX-R GT at 40 points.
Possibly the ultimate interpretation of the original Honda NSX — Japan's first supercar — the GT featured entirely new aerodynamic pieces and a non-functional roof snorkel created specifically so that the Super GT race car could have a working one. Honda made just five, the minimum required for homologation.
Winter will run until 1430UTC on Thursday June 13, with Series 34 continuing on for one more week until the same time on Thursday June 20.
Series 34 Winter Playlist: Forzathon Events
It's a relatively gentle challenge this week, and ought not to take long to complete. You can start that by reaching a speed of 180mph in the car, before taking on and winning any Road Race event.
Finally just photograph the car to finish the challenge, earning five Playlist points and 80 Forzathon Points.
Forzathon Weekly Challenge: Berlinetta
- Car: Ferrari F355 Berlinetta '94
- Chapter 1: Own and drive the Ferrari F355
- Chapter 2: Reach a speed of 180mph in the Ferrari F355
- Chapter 3: Win a Road Race in the Ferrari F355
- Chapter 4: Take a photo of the Ferrari F355
- Reward: 5 points, 80FP
Again, you'll complete the first on the list pretty much doing anything this week, as Alright in the 80s requires you to drive any car from the 1980s.
You'll need to go out of your way for Midnight Spoils though, but simply winning any Midnight Battle will check this off your list.
Get into The Spirit of Drift next and earn three Drift skills in the 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R.
Sort yourself a New Look and paint the body of any car in the livery editor.
Arrange for a Care Package next by sending a Gift Drop to any other player.
After that be a Time Lord and take a photo of your car during night — and you can feel free to use the photomode preset for that.
Finally be Unstoppable as you win any Cross Country race in a Hummer.
Daily Challenges
- June 6 – Alright in the 80s: Drive any car from the 1980s
- June 7 – Midnight Spoils: Win any Midnight Battle
- June 8 – The Spirit of Drift: Get three Drift skills in the Mazda RX-7 Spirit R '02
- June 9 – New Look: Paint the body of your car
- June 10 – Care Package: Send a Gift Drop to another player
- June 11 – Time Lord: Take a photo of your car at night
- June 12 – Unstoppable: Win a Cross Country race in any Hummer
Series 34 Winter Playlist: Season Events
For Off the Rails you'll be revisiting the Catch Me If You Canyon event, "racing" a freight train. However, instead of the original Countach you'll be driving the modern LPI800-4 interpretation — provided to you for the event. It's worth five points, and is a largely scripted affair as you'll finish almost neck and neck with the train as usual…
Both of the EventLab races, worth three points apiece, are solo time trials this week. Aztec My Chances requires an A Class (701-800PI) Retro Sports Car, and comprises a three-lap run around a short, Mesoamerican-themed loop for a Porsche 968.
Le Capitaine, if you can't decipher the description, is two laps around a bumpy mountain pass in a B Class (601-700PI) Retro Rally vehicle and awards a Lamborghini Diablo SV.
As we've seen a lot recently, both of the PR Stunts this week require the same vehicle type: an A Class (701-800PI) car from the 1980s. In both cases you won't need to do much tuning if you select a car type suited for the task, and each awards two points and Super Wheelspin for each.
The Ladera Speed Zone in Guanajuato just requires an average pass of 85mph — which we find easier west to east, and in virtually any stock supercar. For the nearby City Escape Trailblazer, just getting a clean run should be enough to beat the countdown timer to 40 seconds, if you can soak up the initial jump.
That leaves the two Seasonal Championships, each a three-race event against "Highly Skilled" AI where you'll need to top the points table at the end to earn five points and a bonus reward.
2000 and Late requires a C Class (501-600PI) Classic Sports Cars, awarding a 1971 Nissan Skyline GT-R. DTM Ready involves B Class (601-700PI) Retro Saloons, gifting a Mercedes-Benz 190E for the win.
Speed Zone: Ladera
- Car: A Class, 1980s
- Location: Guanajuato
- Challenge: 85mph
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Trailblazer: City Escape
- Car: A Class, 1980s
- Location: Guanjuato
- Challenge: 40s
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
EventLab: Aztec My Chances
- Car: A Class, Retro Sports Cars
- Location: Pantano de la Selva
- Challenge: Win the Race
- Reward: 3 points, Porsche 968
EventLab: Le Capitane
- Car: B Class, Retro Rally
- Location: Gran Caldera
- Challenge: Win the Race
- Reward: 3 points, Lamborghini Diablo SV
Seasonal Championship: 2000 and Late
- Car: C Class, Classic Sports Cars
- Location: Ruta Norta
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Nissan Skyline GT-R '71
Seasonal Championship: DTM Ready
- Car: B Class, Retro Saloons
- Location: Tierra Prospera
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Mercedes-Benz 190E
Showcase Remix: Off the Rails
- Car: Lamborghini Countach LPI800-4 (provided)
- Location: Copper Canyon
- Challenge: Win the Race
- Reward: 5 points, Foghorn Horn
Seasonal Playground Games returns for the week, with King it On comprising a best-of-three event made up entirely of Team King in S1 Class (801-900PI) Rally Monsters.
For this you'll be on a team of up to six players facing another team of up to six players. Two on each team will be "King", and they must avoid being tagged by the opposition and lose their crown. That's made harder by an automatic slow-down for holding onto the crown for more than ten seconds, and you can pass it on to a team-mate during that period.
Each team scores one second of time per crown per second (therefore up to four seconds per second), and the first team to hit ten minutes wins. The first team to two round wins takes the overall victory.
You don't need to win however. Just complete the event to earn three points and a Synth Toms Horn.
The Trial remains in its permanent spot, with Back to the 90s requiring any B Class (601-700PI) BMW cars from the 1990s.
This is another team-based event as you and up to five other human players race off against a squad of six "Unbeatable" AI. It's again a best-of-three, but you'll need to be aware that every spot counts.
That's because each player earns 100pt for each opponent they beat, but nothing for beating a team-mate. You'll need to outscore the AI as a whole team, and that means team tactics are required: block the AI to allow slower team-mates to pass them and don't trip over each other.
While it's a low-powered road race series this week, the circuits used do give some challenge to the mix. However we, as usual, won in just two races and took the rewards of ten points and a BMW M1.
Seasonal Playground Games: King it On
- Car: S1 Class, Rally Monsters
- Location: Ek'Balam
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 3 points, Synth Toms Horn
The Trial: Back to the 90s
- Car: B Class, BMW, 1990s
- Location: Guanajuato
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 10 points, BMW M1
Series 34 Winter Playlist: Challenges
You'll need Xbox Core for the Eliminator, but it remains its standard challenge. Finish 30th or better — often a case of just surviving unchallenge for a couple of minutes as players drop out, lose low-ranked head-to-heads, or get eaten by the contracting play area — to score two points and a Raptor Rawr Horn.
This week's Photo Challenge, #3000, is all about the Mitsubishi GTO — also known as the 3000GT in some markets. Just take a photo of the car anywhere around the radio telescope at Gran Telescopioto earn two points and a Plasma Horn.
The Eliminator: Battle Royale
- Cars: Any (provided)
- Location: The Eliminator
- Challenge: Finish 30th or better in the Eliminator
- Reward: 2 points, Raptor Rawr Horn
Photo Challenge: #3000
- Cars: Mitsubishi GTO '97
- Location: Gran Telescopio
- Challenge: Photograph the Mitsubishi GTO '97 at Gran Telescopio
- Reward: 2 points, Plasma Horn
Series 34 Winter Playlist: Monthly Events
You can complete these at any time you wish during the four-week Series, with one point award per event per season whenever you choose to do so. That's four points each and 16 in total.
Although similar to Rivals events in style, you're not required to beat the ghost against which you're pitted. All you need to is set a clean course time, so get through the checkpoints, don't hit anything solid, and avoid the Rewind button. As two of the events are two point-to-point sprint races, some restarting may be required!
The two Forza EV events this month star the Hyundai N Vision 74 at Los Jardines Circuit and the Lotus Evija at the Descansar Dorado sprint. Meanwhile the regular events feature the new Countach LPI800-4 up at the Playa Azul Circuit, with the 1980 Lotus Esprit at the Las Laderas sprint.
Forza EV: Descansar Dorado Sprint
- Cars: Lotus Evija (provided)
- Location: Costa Rocosa
- Challenge: Post a Clean Time
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Forza EV: Los Jardines Circuit
- Cars: Hyundai N Vision 74 '22 (provided)
- Location: Los Jardines
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Monthly Rivals: Las Laderas
- Cars: Lotus Esprit '80 (provided)
- Location: Estadio Horizon
- Challenge: Post a Clean Time
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Monthly Rivals: Playa Azul Circuit
- Cars: Lamborghini Countach LPI800-4 (provided)
- Location: Play Azula
- Challenge: Post a Clean Lap
- Reward: 4 points (1 added to each season)
Series 34 Winter Bonus DLC Events
For Hot Wheels you'll need an A Class (701-800PI) Retro Supercar for each challenge, requiring a 210mph trap speed at Forest Edge — easy in any supercar thanks to the fan boost — for the Super Wheelspin reward. The Holden Oldies championship gifts a Holden Torana for victory.
Similarly, Rally Adventure requires an S1 Class (801-900PI) Rally Monsters car for both. A special set-up may be needed for the 110,000pt Drift Zone at Canyon Sweep, but it's doable with any slidey car as standard. You'll score a Ford RS200 for completing the Apex Evolution championship too.
Hot Wheels Speed Trap: Forest Edge
- Car: A Class, Retro Supercars
- Location: Hot Wheels Forest Falls
- Challenge: 210mph
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Hot Wheels Seasonal Championship: Holden Oldies
- Car: A Class, Retro Supercars
- Location: Hot Wheels Forest Falls
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Holden Torana
Rally Adventure Drift Zone: Canyon Sweep
- Car: S1 Class, Rally Monsters
- Location: Sierra Nueva Senda de Montanana
- Challenge: 110,000pt
- Reward: 2 points, Super Wheelspin
Rally Adventure Seasonal Championship: Apex Evolution
- Car: S1 Class, Rally Monsters
- Location: Sierra Nueva La Presa
- Challenge: Win the Championship
- Reward: 5 points, Ford RS200
Series 34 Winter Forzathon Shop
The top dog is the lead car, with the all-electric Lotus Evija available for 650FP. With over 2,000hp on tap from four individual, 375kW electric motors, the Evija is one of the quickest things anywhere right now even if not necessarily being as light weight as Lotus's famous motto.
More old school is the 550FP Elise GT1 road car, which is a tale of woe. Designed to take on the GT1 race category and based on the bonded aluminum Elise chassis, the car was outclassed by custom machines before it even made the race track. A fragile V8 power train didn't help either, but Lotus did build the one homologation model required — as you can clearly see!
In total you'll save 4.3m credits buying the cars through the Store this week, instead of the Autoshow, with the Evija at 2.5m and the Elise at 1.8m.
This week's other store items are the Farid Rueda's Lion Tank Top, Grit Reapers Cap, and new Cassette Car Horn. A Wheelspin and a Super Wheelspin are also available at their usual 60FP and 150FP respectively.
Series 34 Winter Forzathon Shop
- Lotus Evija '20 – 650FP
- Lotus Elise GT1 – 550FP
- Farid Rueda's Lion Tank Top – 75FP
- Grit Reapers Cap – 75FP
- Cassette Car Horn – 75FP
- Wheelspin – 60FP
- Super Wheelspin – 150FP
