Xbox One, Forza Motorsport 5 to Coming to V8 Supercars

The folks from Microsoft have announced a new sponsorship program with a team in the Australian V8 Supercar series for Xbox One and Forza Motorsport 5 that will put the colors of the upcoming gaming console and driving simulator in front of racing fans – while jointly announcing that the famous Australian race course Bathurst will appear in Forza 5.

The Bathurst 1000 of the Australian V8 Supercar series is one of the most grueling and most watched races in the world with racing fans in 137 different countries tuning in to watch the 620 mile endurance race and when fans watch the race this year, they will see the colors of the Xbox One and the Forza Motorsport 5 logo prominently displayed on a car that has a very good chance of winning. Xbox One will be the main sponsor of the Triple Eight Race Engineering #10 Holden VF Commodore race car – a team that has claimed titles at Bathurst 5 times since 2006. This means that not only will the Xbox One colors and logo be on display during the race but the Xbox-sponsored GM race car has a very real chance of winning. For those unfamiliar with the Australian V8 Supercar Series, winning the Bathurst 1000 is comparable to winning NASCAR’s Daytona 500.

Taking care of the driving duties of the Xbox One/Forza Motorsport 5 Holden VF Commodore will be a duo of championship drivers including Andy Priaulx and Mattias Ekström. Ekstrom has raced all over the world in the ranks of World RallyCross, Global RallyCross, NASCAR and the Race of Champions while Priaulx has spent time in the World Touring Car Championship and the German DTM Series. Priaulx has also competed in the Bathurst 1000 three times so he brings a great deal of experience to the team. The Xbox One Holden is powered by a 5.0L V8 that churns out a whopping 640 horsepower – which will catapault this roomy racing sedan from a stop to 62 miles per hour in just 3.3 seconds en route to a top speed of 185 miles per hour.

More importantly to gamers, the famed Bathurst Mount Panorama Circuit will be one of the many new tracks coming to Forza Motorsport 5 and considering that Xbox One is sponsoring a Holden race car – we would expect to see these GM super sedans available for use in the upcoming game. Forza 4 gamers are likely familiar with the V8 Supercars and the Holden VF Commodore as the race built General Motors sedan was featured in a collection of different race liveries in the predecessor to Forza Motorsport 5 so it should come as no surprise that the V8 Supercars will be present in the new game. However, it does come as a surprise that Bathurst will arrive and for those gamers who love taking on the most challenging race tracks in the world…Forza 5 just keeps getting better.

The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 is set to run on October 13th while Xbox One and Forza Motorsport 5 will both hit retails stores around the United States on November 22nd. Ive already placed my reservations for both and I cannot wait for the best gaming console and the best driving game ever to arrive in late November. In the meantime, check out the video below of the Xbox One race car coming to life.