FH5 Updated 2026-05-14 2 pending verification

Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels Expansion — Tracks, Cars, Horizon Hot Wheels Academy

Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels is the first paid expansion for FH5, released on July 19, 2022 and built around a floating Hot Wheels park in the clouds high above Mexico. This page rounds up every confirmed fact about the expansion — track length, biomes, the 10 new cars, the five-tier Horizon Hot Wheels Academy progression and price — as of 2026-05-14, with Forza Horizon 6 launching just five days later on 2026-05-19.

Key Facts

Field	Value
Release date	July 19, 2022
Announced	Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, June 12, 2022
Price (standalone, USD)	$19.99
Track length	212 km (131 miles)
New cars	10
Biomes	4 (Giant’s Canyon, Ice Cauldron, Forest Falls, Horizon Nexus)
Track surface types	Ice, Water Flumes, Rumble, Magnet, Air Tracks
EventLab pieces added	80+ track and stunt pieces
Horizon Story parts	5
Academy ranks	5 (Rookie, Pro, Expert, Elite, Legend)
Academy car classes	B, A, S1, S2, X
Headline cars	2021 Hennessey Venom F5, 2000 Hot Wheels Deora II, 2018 Chevrolet Hot Wheels COPO Camaro
Metacritic score	(unconfirmed)
OpenCritic average	84/100 (25 reviews)

Release Date and Price

Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels launched on July 19, 2022, roughly eight months after the base game shipped on November 9, 2021. It was announced at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12, 2022 and is the first of FH5’s two paid expansions — Rally Adventure followed in March 2023.

Edition / Bundle	Price (USD)	Notes
Hot Wheels standalone expansion	$19.99	Requires base FH5
FH5 Premium Add-Ons Bundle	bundled	Includes Hot Wheels + Rally Adventure
FH5 Premium Edition	bundled	Base game + both expansions
FH5 Expansions Bundle	bundled	Hot Wheels + Rally Adventure

It is also available via Xbox Game Pass for subscribers who own or are playing FH5 through Game Pass. PC players should check FH5 PC requirements before purchasing the standalone expansion.

The Horizon Hot Wheels Park: 212 km of Sky Tracks Across Four Biomes

The expansion adds a brand-new map — the Horizon Hot Wheels Park — that floats in the clouds high above Mexico. Xbox Wire’s launch post puts the figure at “212 kilometers (131 miles) of Hot Wheels tracks”, while the original reveal blog rounded it to “more than 200 kilometres … of twisting, looping iconic orange track.”

The park is divided into four distinct biomes:

Biome	Theme
Giant’s Canyon	Hot, red-rock desert canyons
Ice Cauldron	Snow and ice
Forest Falls	Lush forest with waterfalls
Horizon Nexus	Central futuristic hub

Track surfaces are the headline feature — you race on “snowy Ice track, … hydroplaning on Water Flumes, … the bumps of Rumble, and even defying gravity on the futuristic Magnet tracks,” plus high-speed Air Tracks that maintain constant velocity. The verticality is dramatic: reviewers highlighted “the impressive verticality to be seen, and a truly breathtaking turn of speed” as a defining trait of the expansion. No other FH5 biome comes close to the sheer drop heights and loop radii that the sky park makes possible.

The 10 New Cars Added with Hot Wheels

The expansion adds 10 cars unlocked through the Horizon Hot Wheels Academy progression. The headliners are the 2021 Hennessey Venom F5 and the iconic 2000 Hot Wheels Deora II, with the 2018 Chevrolet Hot Wheels COPO Camaro also confirmed in the official reveal.

The broader Hot Wheels-themed roster published on forza.net includes:

2013 Hot Wheels Baja Bone Shaker
1957 Hot Wheels Nash Metropolitan Custom
2000 Hot Wheels Deora II
1949 Hot Wheels Ford F-5 Dually Custom Hot Rod
2012 Hot Wheels Rip Rod
1993 Schuppan 962CR
2018 Chevrolet Hot Wheels COPO Camaro
2018 Hot Wheels 2JetZ
2005 Hot Wheels Ford Mustang
2018 Subaru WRX STI ARX Supercar
2021 Hennessey Venom F5

The exact mapping of which 10 cars count as “expansion-exclusive” versus Festival Playlist drops tied to the Hot Wheels season is partially (unconfirmed); Xbox Wire confirms the “10 new cars in Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels” figure but does not publish the canonical 10-car list in the launch blog. Two vehicles in the list above — the 1949 Hot Wheels Ford F-5 Custom and the 2005 Hot Wheels Ford Mustang — also expand the FH5 Ford lineup. For context on where these cars sit in the full roster, see the FH5 full car list.

Horizon Hot Wheels Academy: Five-Rank Progression

Progression in the expansion is gated through the Horizon Hot Wheels Academy, which Xbox Wire describes as “divided into five tiers with rewards, events and Missions associated to each.” Each rank unlocks the next performance class of cars you can race in the park, starting at B-class and ending at the X-class Legend tier.

Rank	Car Class Unlocked	Medals Required
Rookie	B class	Unlocked at start
Pro	A class	175 medals
Expert	S1 class	575 medals
Elite	S2 class	1,375 medals
Legend	X class	2,425 medals

After reaching each medal threshold, players must also clear that rank’s Pro Qualifier event before advancing. Reviewers responded positively to the structure; TheXboxHub noted they had “really enjoyed this newfound sense of structure” versus FH5’s normally open-ended career. The total medal count to reach Legend — 2,425 — represents a substantial time investment and ensures the highest-performance classes feel earned rather than immediately accessible.

The expansion also ships with a five-part Horizon Story that frames the Academy as the journey to becoming a Hot Wheels Legend, adding narrative context that is largely absent from the base game’s looser, festival-style progression.

EventLab: Build Your Own Hot Wheels Tracks

Hot Wheels brings a major upgrade to the EventLab creator with “over 80 new track and stunt pieces that instantly snap together thanks to new improvements to the EventLab toolset.” Pieces include orange track segments, loops, jumps, magnet sections, rumble strips and boost pads, and they can be placed anywhere in the wider FH5 world — not just in the sky park.

This effectively turned EventLab into a Hot Wheels track-building toy layered on top of FH5’s existing Mexico map: players can author their own loops over Guanajuato, drop magnet tracks across the volcano, or rebuild classic FH3 Hot Wheels layouts. The “snap together” improvement was specifically called out because earlier EventLab piece placement required manual alignment — the Hot Wheels parts auto-connect on contact.

Community-built Hot Wheels creations remain among the most-downloaded EventLab blueprints in FH5 as of 2026 and are a recurring source of Festival Playlist EventLab challenges. With Forza Horizon 6 launching on 2026-05-19, FH5’s Hot Wheels EventLab content is expected to remain playable in FH5 but will not migrate to FH6 at launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the FH5 Hot Wheels expansion come out?

July 19, 2022. It was announced at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12, 2022.

How much does Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels cost?

$19.99 USD standalone. It is also included free in the FH5 Premium Edition, Premium Add-Ons Bundle and Expansions Bundle.

How many cars are in the FH5 Hot Wheels expansion?

10 new cars, headlined by the 2021 Hennessey Venom F5 and the 2000 Hot Wheels Deora II.

How long are the Hot Wheels tracks in FH5?

212 kilometres (131 miles) of orange track spread across four floating biomes above Mexico.

What are the Horizon Hot Wheels Academy ranks?

Five ranks: Rookie (B class, start), Pro (A class, 175 medals), Expert (S1 class, 575 medals), Elite (S2 class, 1,375 medals) and Legend (X class, 2,425 medals).

What biomes are in the Hot Wheels expansion?

Four: Giant’s Canyon, Ice Cauldron, Forest Falls and the central Horizon Nexus hub.

Is the Hot Wheels expansion worth it?

Critic consensus is yes — OpenCritic averages 84/100 across 25 reviews, with TheXboxHub awarding it 4.5/5 and calling the verticality and progression structure highlights.

Sources

Pending verification: key_facts.metacritic_summary_score, sections.cars.exact_10_car_canonical_list