Forza Horizon 6 Guide: Essential cars you need for conquering Japan

Forza Horizon games are always absolutely rammed with activities to complete. There are regular races and extravagant Showcase events, but also tons of collectibles to gather and countless additional objectives to tick off in the form of Speed Traps and Zones, Drift Zones, Danger Signs, and Trailblazer events. While many of these challenges are completable with a rather run-of-the-mill supercar, you will often come across more demanding challenges that require more refined vehicles and models designed to complete more niche tasks to a greater effect.

To this end, after having seen and completed most of what Forza Horizon 6 has in store in its regular map, we've picked out a slate of cars that have proven to be absolutely worth every Credit they cost on the journey to 100%.

Nissan GT-R Nismo (R35)

This car will carry you through the majority of Forza Horizon 6's activities. This is your workhorse, a car that can handle intense Touge races, will dominate the competition in street racing scenes, can easily navigate the wider map and will make it easy to notch up two or more stars in most open-world challenges. The trick with this car however is to not overtune it. Keep it at the limits of S1 (around 800 rating), else you'll be pushing it into the territory of hypercars and extreme track toys, which is a little beyond where this car works at its best. Also, it's rather affordable at 256,500 Credits, making it an ideal early game acquisition.

Ariel Atom 500 V8

In a similar vein to the Nissan GT-R, this car is an affordable performance behemoth. You can snag a base model for 180,500 Credits and then upgrade it to almost the max rating, turning it into an indomitable track titan that acts like a rocket engine on four wheels. It will get bullied and pushed around by bigger cars, but if you can handle the torque and power this small frame kicks out, then you should be able to three-star a lot of activities and smash many of the later-game races.

Ford RS200 Evolution

You actually get gifted this car by completing the Pier Pressure Wristband Event and boy what a gift it is. This is one of the most pleasing cars in the game to drive, and even without slamming any upgrades into its chassis, you should be able to obliterate the competition in most rally and offroad events, and even dominate Trailblazer activities and the offroad Speed Traps and Zones.

Lamborghini Revuelto

Eventually, you will need to snag a proper hypercar (unless you have the Welcome Pack and access to a Mercedes-AMG One) and when that day comes you'll be tasked with finding a model you can actually afford. The Revuelto is the solution as this hypercar clocks in at just 346,750 Credits and is quite versatile with its upgrades, to the point where you can easily make this a track and road beast able to easily surpass 230mph, or even a model that is somewhat able to tackle offroad scenarios, making it easier to smash some of the more unruly offroad Speed Traps and Zones.

Mazda RX-7 Type R

There are a fair amount of Drift Zones across Japan and not all of them are easy to overcome. To claim the three-stars on offer, you'll want a car that is made for drifting and why not pay homage to perhaps the most famous drifting film ever: Tokyo Drift. Yep, the Mazda RX-7 Type R is an effective model for drifting, assuming you maintain the real-wheel-drive wheelbase and equip it with sport parts and drift parts where applicable. This version of the car won't be good for much else, but it will nail drifting with flying colours, which isn't bad for a car that only costs 38,000 Credits.

#2 Audi Sport Quattro S1

We're starting to get into the veins of very expensive cars at this point, but from our experience, there are few vehicles that handle offroad tasks as this Quattro does. Upgrade it with pure rally in mind and you'll reach the 900s with a car that can blast down motorways well beyond 220mph all while gliding down offroad paths like it was asphalt at 160+ mph. There are few offroad challenges this car can't conquer and they are typically the few ones where you need an absolute behemoth of a vehicle...

Koenigsegg Jesko

There are a few, and we really do mean a few, Speed Traps, Danger Signs, even races, where you need a true monster to overcome them. There are a plentiful array of options in Forza Horizon 6, but the Jesko is a versatile tool that offers over 1,600bhp and a relatively low weight when considering all that power. So if you need to cross 600+ metres for a Danger Sign, blast down a motorway beyond 260mph, or make short work of a litany of other hypercars in a street race or drag race, the Jesko will do everything you need it to do and then some. The catch is that this car costs 3,325,000 Credits, meaning it is a late-game investment unless you luck out on Wheel Spins.

Are there any other cars you feel should be an essential garage staple? If so, let us know in the comments.