Arriving today, the Alpinestars Car Pack brings seven new cars to Forza Horizon 3. Leading off the pack are a pair of beloved drifting legends, the 1998 Nissan Silvia K’s and the 1990 Mazda Savanna RX-7; two of the most requested cars in the Forza community. The Alpinestars Car Pack also features a chunk of Australian racing history in the Ford Falcon XR GT, a street-legal racer in Dodge Viper ACR, and more. The Alpinestars Car Pack is included as part of the Forza Horizon 3 Car Pass, which is available for purchase in the Microsoft Store. Players can also get the pack as a standalone purchase for $6.99.
Here’s a closer look at each of the car’s in this month’s pack:
2017 Acura NSX
The new Acura NSX may be a hybrid, but it’s a hybrid supercar. A mid-engine, all-wheel-drive, twin-turbo, hybrid slice of pure performance. With 650 hp from its combined 3.5-liter V6 and three electric motors driving all four wheels, what you have is a balanced and capable car that can compete with other supercars nearly ten times its price. There are nine gears to work your way through as you pass 60 mph in just over three seconds and torque-vectoring to smooth you through the curves. All the while you can still look back fondly on the original NSX that made the 2017 model possible in the first place.
1998 Nissan Silvia K’s
If you drift what you drive, this S14 Kouki model is your dream car in the making. The K’s model has the later version of the SR20DET motor with variable valve timing and a larger turbo under the hood. Outside you have a slightly larger body that is accentuated by the rounded styling, as well as a modest wing and ground effects. When Nissan built the Silvia they knew their market of enthusiasts. That was long before the entire drift movement was little more than a small cultish group of enthusiasts. This Silvia has a chassis that lends itself to going sideways or just looking good going down the road. What will you do with your build?
1990 Mazda Savannah RX-7
The second-generation RX-7 (FC) was specifically designed to appeal to the largest market—the United States—by looking at what sports cars were selling well at the time, namely the Porsche 924 and 944. Under the hood, though, the Porsche and the Mazda couldn’t be more different. Mazda’s latest rotary, a two-rotor design known as the 13B, saw the addition of a turbocharger and a host of other refinements to bring power (and more importantly, torque) up to 200 and 195 ft-lbs. respectively. Suspension improvements include a particularly advanced independent rear suspension. Not only does the second generation RX-7 perform wonderfully, the sound of the rotary alone is enough to make this car your go to drifter or racer.
1967 Ford Falcon XR GT
The Falcon holds a prominent place in Australian muscle car history. When Ford Australia Managing Director Bill Bourke introduced the XR GT, its racing provenance was soon in the making. With a 289 V8 powering the car, Harry Firth of the Ford Works Team took the Falcon racing at Bathurst – Mount Panorama. It was groundbreaking since the course had previously been considered too difficult for a full-bodied car like the Falcon. Firth and Fred Gibson won the then named Gallaher 500 by 11 seconds and set the course for GM’s Holden and Chrysler Australia to get involved in racing. The resulting rivalries and brand loyalties have built generations of muscle car lovers in Australia.
2016 Dodge Viper ACR
The appropriately named ACR, or American Club Racer, version of the Viper is little more than a race car with a license plate. The tires are basically slicks with some superficial groves to make them street legal. Built for the track with a massive wing that contributes around 2,000 pounds of downforce at top speed, the ACR is actually slower than other Viper models, until you take it into a corner, where is sticks like glue and corners like nothing else. With 8.4 liters of V10 under its long nose, you won’t be longing for power either. Unleash this venomous snake for one of the rides of your life.
2016 BMW M4 GTS
The M-Class inspires the performance-minded driver, but when you add the GTS to the badge you better be ready for something special. New water-injection technology helps maintain intake manifold temperatures which allows higher boost pressures and increased horsepower. But, of course, the special model was going to have more power. The real sweetheart in the GTS is the roughly 200-pound weight loss that makes the GTS more nimble and able to accelerate quickly. Add in some great appearance enhancements in the way of cool lighting elements, a deleted back seat and a huge wing and you have a standout model worthy of the special badging that lets others know to get out of the way at a glance.
1979 Talbot Lotus Sunbeam
The World Rally Championship has inspired some awesome hot hatches over the years, and the Talbot Lotus Sunbeam is one of the hottest. In the search to compete with Ford, Chrysler Europe came up with this British-French collaboration that earned the constructors cup in 1981. It may resemble the Plymouth Horizon or the Dodge Omni but this baby is rear wheel drive with a punched-out two-liter making the better part of 150 hp. A classic late-70s oddball that’s ready for anything you can throw at it in the game.
One last thing – as we all know, winter is coming and that means some less than ideal road conditions. Here is a peek at what you will be facing in the first Forza Horizon 3 expansion later this year.
