News Forza Horizon Jalopnik Car Pack details announced

Set to go live on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace on February 5th, the Jalopnik DLC will retail for the usual 400 Microsoft Points for non-Season Pass owners, with those who bought the Pass getting the Pack free of charge.

With regards to the content, the Jalopnik Car Pack brings back some familar faces for those who've ever played the more recent Forza Motorsport titles, ranging from humble Datsuns that could become truly monstrous drag racers once fully modified, to uber-cool staon wagons

But let's kick things off with something the anomaly of the car pack: a car you can actually buy brand new from your nearest Subaru dealer…

Subaru BRZ

Any car buffs reading this will most likely realise that, theoretically, we already have the Subaru BRZ in Forza Horizon – bar the different badge and front fascia design, it's pretty much an identical car to the Scion FR-S.

Understandably, some won't see the point in the BRZ's inclusion in Forza Horizon for that very reason. But it does mean that, given the two are so similar underneath, you'll have a pretty ace little sports car to add to your garage.

And, with Subaru being pretty much synonymous with the World Rally Championship, and there being a Rally Expansion Pack for Forza Horizon, we reckon there'll be quite a few specially-prepped, turbocharged BRZs in the iconic '555' livery tearing up the game's dirt trails and rally stages.

See, there is (sort of) a point to the Subaru BRZ after all!

Mazda RX-3

Think of succesful Japanese performance cars from the 1970s, and it's likely the first thought that comes to mind is the Nissan Skyline GT-R. It was, after all, one of the most dominant touring cars of the era, so why shouldn't it be?

However, it wasn't the only major racing car from the Far East at that time: at roughly the same time, Mazda brought its rotoary-powered RX-3 to the table. And boy, did it make an impact!

After all, not only did it win on its motorsports debut at the 1971 Fuji Tourist Trophy race, but it also went on to rack up a further 99 wins in the next five years, and – despite being one of the older competitors in the field – was able to win the IMSA RS championship four times between 1978 and 1983.

Sadly, there aren't any race tracks in Forza Horizon, so it's not quite possible to replicate the RX-3's success on the asphalt in the game. However, with the Skyline 2000GT-R – one of its arch rivals – also being in Horizon, you can always stage a nostalgic head-to-head on the winding canyon roads of Playground Games' Colorado..

Datsun 510

Very little put the fear of God in Forza Motorsport 3's online drag racing community: these were, after all, men and women who had mastered the art of throttle application and learnt the divine skill of taming power output figures that frequently made their way into four-figure territory.

However, there was one nemesis that almost every FM3 drag racer hoped they'd never have to encounter on the strip: the now-infamous Datsun 510.

For some unknown reason, that humble vintage box on wheels had the ability to dominate the leaderboards, no matter how long the drag race lasted for. Even those who rolled up in fully modified Veyrons had to hook up the perfect run if they were to even have a chance of beating a Datsun 510 with all the bells and whistles thrown onto it.

With the absence of drag strips and custmisable gearboxes in Forza Horizon, it's king of FM3's drag races most likely won't be able to hold onto its crown on the open roads of Colorado. However, don't go thinking a race against a 510 will be an easy victory: with the right set-up and the right driver behind the wheel, the humble Datsun will always have the potential to be a truly formidable opponent…

Ferrari 512 TR

As the immortal saying goes, "nothing last forever", and – by the turn of the Nineties – it certainly seemed that the Ferrari Testarossa's time was up.

However, the engineers at Maranello felt that all the car needed was a small overhaul of sorts to keep its iconic supercar competitive. And the end result? the 512 TR.

The small upgrade, though, seemingly made a huge difference to the Testarossa. Whilst it perhaps wasn't as outlandish as the original from the 1980s, it was lighter, more powerful, faster, nicer to drive and – perhaps most crucially – was less likely to punish you with death if you provoked it into oversteer.

Mind you, being a thoroughbred mid-engined Ferrari, it'll still snap if you push it hard enough, so it's best you give the 512 TR a bit of respect if you want to make it around the first corner, facing in the right direction and not hidden from view in a massive cloud of tyre smoke…

Toyota FJ Cruiser

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Toyota seems to have a knack for making really tough off-road vehicles – eleven generations of the Land Cruiser have been made since the first made its debut in 1951, and the Top Gear trio have proven time and time again that there's very little that can knock a Hilux pick-up truck out of action.

However, given they're some of the world's lagest car maker's most legendary vehicles, it's perhaps surprising that none have appeared as drivable vehicles in a Forza game.

Until now, that is!

Despite being a retro-homage to the older Land Cruiser variants, the FJ Cruiser seemingly has genuine off-road capability – it is, after all, based on Hilux underpinnings, so it'd be shocking if it wasn't good in the mucky stuff.

Sadly, bar the rally stages in the aforementioned expansion pack, there aren't really that many places in Forza Horizon to put the FJ Cruiser through its paces. 

Damn…

Ford Country Squire

If you ever had the chance to play on or own a copy of Forza Motorsport 4, it's likely you got the chance to experience to try out the Ford Country Squire, most likely at very sideways angles on the Fujimi Kaido venue as Ross did in his review of the FM4 Pirelli Car Pack.

As a result, it may seem odd to some to add the car as DLC, considering it's been seen in previous Forza games and hasn't really got much use in Forza Horizon.

However, there are two factors in its favour: 1) it's the only car of the six in the pack that can be downloaded seperately for free, and 2) it's friggin' awesome!

I mean, you can't really get a cooler car in the game if you tried. What's not to like when you've got a thunderous V8 in a retro staion wagon shell, and the benign ability to power oversteer all day long and make you look like a drifting God?

Yeah, we can see ourselves having quite a bit of fun in the Country Squire, threading it through the twisty canyon roads and riding on a wave of big-block rumble and a huge plume of tyre smoke…

So, that's the Jalopnik Car Pack all wrapped up. Will you be getting it, and – if so – what are you most looking forward to trying out in the realms of Forza Horizon? Feel free to let us know!

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