Forza Horizon 5 Series 17 “Japanese Automotive” brings new vehicles and EventLab props

What you need to know

• Playground Games’ Let’s Go! streams are dedicated to showing the future of Forza Horizon 5.
• On Thursday, the company revealed the details of Series 17 “Japanese Automotive,” which will celebrate Japanese made vehicles.
• There are four new Japanese cars up for grabs in the upcoming update, including the 2023 Nissan Z.
• Series 17 will also celebrate player creators and the EventLab with highlights and new prop additions.

The first Forza Horizon 5 Let’s Go! stream of 2023 has concluded, with the Playground Games team firmly back in action for the new year. Series 16 has entered its final season, meaning it’s time to look forward to what’s next — Series 17 “Japanese Automotive,” which will celebrate Japanese vehicles, including bringing a highly-requested car to FH5 players’ garages.

The Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist is about to begin a new era with the arrival of Series 17. Dubbed “Japanese Automotive,” the entire Festival Playlist celebrates the illustrious history of cars and racing in Japan, with a number of Japanese vehicles featured throughout, both as Event requirements and as rewards. The Playlist will highlight two EventLab Events every week to celebrate the creativity of players, especially since many players love to create Japan-inspired races and locations.

The latest Let’s Go! stream also included Forza Horizon 5’s debut Golden Tanks Awards, which celebrates the creativity of the players in a variety of EventLab categories, including the Best Photo Location, Best Drift Event, Best Custom Ruleset, Best Race Event, and EventLab Creation of the Year. The winners of each respective category were announced throughout the show, with Playground Games intending to continue the Golden Tank Awards in the future.

Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know about the Forza Horizon 5 Series 17 “Japanese Automotive” update:

• Cars list additions. To no surprise, the Forza Horizon 5 Series 17 update includes a number of new Japanese vehicles, including the highly requested 2023 Nissan Z and the absolutely adorable Toyota Sports 800. The full list of new cars includes:
  • 1965 Toyota Sports 800
  • 1992 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
  • 1995 Toyota MR2 GT
  • 2023 Nissan Z
• New wheel rims. Forza Horizon 5 Series 17 also includes a host of new rims options with which players can customize their vehicles. Four of the existing brands are getting bolstered with additional variants, with 23 new rims in total being added.
• New EventLab props and additions. With EventLab being another major focus of Forza Horizon 5 Series 17 “Japanese Automotive,” it makes sense that the creative suite is being upgraded with plenty of new props. Playground Games is adding the “Car Park” props pack, which includes a ton of pre-made props inspired by car parks, including spiral pieces, speed bumps, buildings, decals, markers, and much more.
  • There are 57 unique pieces in the pack, and 33 of those props feature alternative color options
• Series 18 tease. We already know a little bit about what Forza Horizon 5 Series 18 will entail, as Playground Games recently revealed how it intends to honor legendary rally driver Ken Block in Forza Horizon 5. However, a tease of the “Coming soon” tab in Series 17 reveals that Forza Horizon 5 Series 18 will be “Horizon Wilds Takeover,” with new cars, collectibles, decorations, and a stunt park.

Forza Horizon 5 remains one of the best Xbox racing games of all time, and there’s frankly not a lot of competing titles vying for the spot at the moment. Playground Games’ commitment to continual post-launch support is part of what makes Forza Horizon 5 so special, and the Series 17 update will shine a light on one of the most vibrant and passionate car cultures in the world.

In case you missed it, Forza Motorsport (2023) recently made an appearance during the Xbox Developer_Direct show, where it provided a fresh look at gameplay and revealed that the game will have over 500 cars and 20 unique environments at launch.