It’s week four of our Forza Horizon 2 car unveils and another batch of fun has arrived! As we work our way to our total of more than 200 cars built from the ground up for Xbox One, let’s take a closer look at this week’s crop of amazing cars.



The Local Motors Rally Fighter is in a class by itself and will be a go-to ride for bashing, thrashing, and racing in the hills of Forza Horizon 2’s southern European setting. While the Rally Fighter is a standout, any of the other cars of week four is perfect for a weekend getaway. That includes two of the all-time greats from Germany: the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 330 SL Gullwing Coupe and the 2013 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. If you are into getting sideways, three utterly drift-able rides have made the list in the R34 Skyline, the Mk III Supra, and the Subaru BRZ. Want to head for the hills? The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is ready for the trail.



Let’s shine the spotlight on a number of this week’s most desirable cars:





2014 Local Motors Rally Fighter

The Rally Fighter is what the word “awesome” was truly meant to describe. A prototypical race body and tube-frame chassis set on a massive suspension, with huge tires and the grunt of a GM LS3 under the hood pushing the rear wheels. Yes, you read correctly, the rear wheels only. In the style of the most successful Baja racers, the Rally Fighter doesn’t need the encumbrance of 4×4 components to lead the pack through any terrain you can throw at it. Through and through the Rally Fighter is tough as nails, and ready to carry four people in the safety of its rugged roll cage to just about anywhere on Earth. Where will you test it?





1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL represented such a huge leap forward in production car design, technology, and style that it is difficult to imagine just how revolutionary it was upon its introduction. Considering how iconic it has remained, and how well-known the car’s signature doors are even to non-enthusiasts, it certainly looks the part. Gullwing doors aside, the low coupe’s rakish profile looked nothing like the dinosaurs it shared the road with—all the more amazing considering how conventional most of Mercedes’ aging designs were at the time. As attractive as the body shell, resembling the W194 racer that inspired it, it’s what’s under the skin that makes the 300SL so groundbreaking. The 3-liter inline six cylinder engine, while related to the unit in the large Type 300 sedan, benefitted from the development it saw in action in the W194, and sported a new cylinder head and mechanical fuel injection to produce more than 240 horsepower in road-going trim. Like the racer, the Gullwing also utilized tube-frame construction, part of which passed through where conventional doors would go, which explains the distinctive door arrangement. The “SL” part of the name stands for “Sport Leicht,” or “sport light,” and the regular Gullwing was very light—but it could be made lighter by ordering the optional aluminum alloy body for a substantial fee. Speaking of substantial costs, the rare and beautiful Gullwing commands prices at auction that suit its position as the ultimate Mercedes road-going coupe.





1958 Aston Martin DBR1

Coast through a corner and roll onto the throttle: the whine of the straight-cut gears gives way to a syncopated baritone that has few equals. Many cars are compared to growling or bellowing animals, but the DBR1’s inline six truly sounds like a very large lion clearing its throat — one of the most primal-sounding motors in automotive history. The DBR1 was not only named after Aston Martin owner David Brown, it also fulfilled his decade-long ambition to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 at the hands of none other than Carroll Shelby and his co-driver Ray Salvadori. The DBR1 also carried Stirling Moss to two of his four victories at the 1000km Nürburgring, run on the notoriously difficult Nürburgring Nordschleife. It did so not with raw power, although the 3-liter motor made 254 horsepower, but a combination of lightweight construction, slippery aerodynamics, and superior driving dynamics. Some of that lightness was due to the extensive use of magnesium alloy in the body, just 0.03 inches thick and quite fragile. Ultimately, the DBR1’s career ended with the win at Le Mans, as Brown had satisfied his ambition to win the championship and turned the company’s focus to single-seater racing. As such, the DBR1 gives drivers the unique experience of driving a beautiful car at the height of its development and success.



The remaining week four cars are here:



