Forza Horizon 6 Turns the Jaguar XJ-S Into a Drift Machine in Its Latest Showcase

The Jaguar XJ-S is embracing a very different kind of grand tour in Forza Horizon 6. A new official showcase puts the 1990 Jaguar XJ-S Forza Edition in the spotlight, highlighting a British classic rebuilt around the pleasures of going sideways.

Published on September 21, the video arrives with a suitably direct description: “Driving in a straight line is NOT on the agenda.” Behind that brief promotional appearance is a substantial addition to the game: a dedicated drift car connected to Drift Attack, the permanent activity introduced with September’s British Automotive update.

The Jaguar therefore already has a place in Horizon Japan, along with a specific route for players to earn it. Its appeal extends beyond adding another familiar badge to the garage, bringing together an unusual vehicle conversion, campaign progression and a new environment for improving drifting skills.

Two Jaguars With Very Different Purposes

The official Forza Horizon 6 car list establishes a clear distinction between the two versions of the XJ-S now available.

The standard 1990 Jaguar XJ-S belongs to the Cult Cars category and carries a performance rating of C 491. Players can purchase it through the Autoshow, providing a starting point for anyone interested in collecting the original model or developing their own interpretation through upgrades and tuning.

The 1990 Jaguar XJ-S Forza Edition sits in the Drift Cars category at S1 750. Its listed acquisition method is the Collection Journal, linking this particular version to progression.

Those differences give collectors two separate objectives. The regular XJ-S preserves the opportunity to begin with the production car, while the Forza Edition offers a specialized interpretation with a defined role in the game’s drifting activities. Buying the standard version and earning the Forza Edition are separate routes to distinct garage entries.

A British Grand Tourer Finds an Unexpected New Role

The choice of the XJ-S gives the conversion much of its personality. According to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, the original model launched in September 1975 and represented Jaguar’s entry into the international grand touring class.

Its engineering drew on the XJ saloon family, including a shortened floorpan and related suspension components. The emphasis combined comfort, refinement and capable handling, giving the XJ-S an identity closely associated with covering distance in considerable style.

That heritage makes it an interesting foundation for a dedicated drift build. A car conceived around sophisticated long-distance travel becomes a vehicle for sustained oversteer and repeated attempts to improve a score.

It is also a fitting selection for British Automotive. The update can celebrate the country’s motoring history while giving an established model a fresh purpose within Horizon’s more playful approach to car culture.

How to Unlock the Jaguar XJ-S Forza Edition

Players first need to obtain the Yellow Wristband in the Horizon Festival campaign to unlock Drift Attack.

From there, the route to the Jaguar runs through Drift Attack completion in the Collection Journal. Playground Games identifies the Forza Edition as one of the rewards available through that progression, alongside the Drift Attack Racesuit and Helmet.

The permanent nature of the activity matters here. The studio explicitly states that players can obtain these rewards at any time, allowing them to work toward the Jaguar at their own pace.

British Automotive’s Festival Playlist runs from September 10 to October 8, but the XJ-S Forza Edition’s progression route remains attached to Drift Attack. Players returning after the themed series can still pursue the car through the activity’s Collection Journal requirements.

That gives the update a lasting collection objective, especially for drivers who prefer learning a discipline gradually over several sessions.

Drift Attack Rewards Precision Across an Entire Lap

Drift Attack takes place at the Shimanoyama Circuit, which has been converted into a permanent venue for the activity. Players enter directly from the open world by driving through its gantry, keeping the transition integrated into normal exploration.

The objective is to accumulate the highest drift score within a single lap. Drivers can continue for as many laps as they want, creating a repeatable practice environment for solo sessions, Convoys and encounters with other players in the Shared World.

Clipping Zones add another consideration. Drifting while the car remains inside their boundaries increases the points earned, making placement part of the scoring challenge.

In practical terms, that structure encourages players to think about how one corner sets up the next. Maintaining a slide is only part of the task; positioning the car to take advantage of a scoring zone creates another opportunity to improve a run.

The activity also supports in-world and Convoy leaderboards. Its menu leaderboard entries display drivetrain information, adding useful context when comparing results and considering different approaches to a build.

Forza Editions Push Familiar Cars Into New Territory

The Jaguar fits a broader direction Playground Games outlined for Forza Edition vehicles in Horizon 6: distinctive cars equipped with extreme modifications.

Earlier examples included a track-focused 1985 Toyota Sprinter and a 1994 Subaru Vivio RX-R prepared for time attack. The XJ-S follows that philosophy by taking a recognizable model and giving it a specialized identity within the festival.

For a large car collection, that approach can make individual rewards more memorable. Their value comes partly from the driving activity they encourage players to explore, giving a familiar silhouette a reason to return to regular use.

Horizon 6’s social systems support that experimentation. LINK Skills reward players for performing skills at the same time, including tandem drifting, while shared Car Meets provide places to display vehicles and discover community tunes and liveries.

The Jaguar consequently arrives in a game already structured around showing off unusual builds and finding other players interested in using them.

British Automotive Adds Improvements Beyond the Garage

The British Automotive update became available on September 7, ahead of its Festival Playlist beginning three days later.

Alongside its new content, Playground Games introduced several practical improvements. Players gained the option to set the audio language independently from subtitle language, while fixes addressed misplaced wheels and missing driver character models at lower graphical settings on PC. The studio also reported improved car rendering quality for the High graphics preset.

These changes accompanied the expansion of a game that launched on Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 19, with more than 550 cars and a campaign built around exploring Japan and progressing through the Horizon Festival.

For the XJ-S Forza Edition, the strongest attraction is the connection between the reward and the activity that unlocks it. Drift Attack provides a circuit to learn, scores to improve and a distinctive Jaguar to pursue along the way—a suitable destination for players ready to spend considerably more time looking through the side windows.

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