Forza Motorsport 7 Introduces Homologated Car Divisions and Events for More Competitive Racing

We’re less than four days to the release of Forza Motorsport 7 for Ultimate Edition owners via early access and the hype has truly risen. We had the release of the free demo on Tuesday, as well as the stunning launch trailer, and yesterday we had the reveal of The Fate of The Furious Car Pack, but today we have a lot of news to dive into for Forza Motorsport 7 with details revealed for the long-awaited Homologation system.
This was revealed by Turn 10’s Community Manager Brian Ekberg in the latest Forza Motorsport Week in Review, which comes just before the release of the Ultimate Edition on Friday.

In Forza Motorsport 7, Turn 10 wants to ensure that all events feature a wide range of cars that are competitive with one another, be it in single-player or online multiplayer. Homologation is the process of upgrading or downgrading each car in the grid, using strict performance regulations that even the playing field and ensure that cars in the same division are always competitive with one another. It makes cars not only eligible in racing competitions in Forza Motorsport 7, but also highly-competitive. That leaves the choice of which car to use in events not between a mere handful of “leaderboard cars,” which has been a dominant issue in the franchise.
“With Forza Motorsport 7 we’re changing perceptions of what players expect from a racing game, whether you’re talking about hundreds of cars spanning decades of automotive history, dynamic track conditions that mean every race is a unique experience, all the way to how we convey the look, sound, and feel of driving cars at their limit,” said Turn 10’s Brian Ekberg. “For longtime Forza fans, we’re going even deeper than that.”
Homologation puts the choice in the hands of the player and their individual preferences, and from the start, it’s quite different to the car class system we had in previous Forza Motorsport titles. Like in the past, the Car Class and Performance Index remains the backbone of the system. However, in previous games, players had numerous ways to reach a certain performance level. For example, they could boost horsepower to absurd levels, even if the car only had skinny tires.

Turn 10 says these types of scenarios became extreme boundary cases which make extreme peaks and valleys in performance within any given class, and often led to “leaderboard cars.” Forza Motorsport 7 will instead challenge players to tune to Homologation standards across multiple performance characteristics beyond Performance Index (PI). This approach will naturally limit the most extreme boundary cases and therefore tighten the competitive set of cars that are found within Forza Motorsport 7.
All of the 714 Forzavista cars in the game each fall into a specific division. For example, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is part of the ‘Exotic GT’ division, while the 2017 Ford Focus RS falls into the ‘Modern Hot Hatch’ division. Naturally, both cars represent different levels of performance and, as with all cars in the game, they can be tuned to performance peaks that ae beyond their stock form.

Homologation comes into play when it’s time to hit the track for a race event – and this applies in both the Forza Driver’s Cup single-player campaign and in multiplayer events created by Turn 10, such as Leagues and Hoppers. Cars will be homologated to certain performance standards based on their division. These divisions can be applied in Free Play and Private Lobbies as well, but are optional. These Homologation standards will be across several performance characteristics – tire compound, tire width, horsepower, and Performance Index (PI).
In order for a particular car to compete in a homologated event, it will need to meet the performance standards inherent to that event. So, for example, an event in the Exotic GT series might allow only ‘Sport’ tire compounds with a maximum tire width of 355, a maximum of 750 horsepower, and a PI ceiling of 800. While cars can and will fall under those performance caps, any build that exceeds those numbers will not be eligible to compete.

Let’s break it down even further and show how it’ll look in Forza Motorsport 7. As shown in the screenshot, which features the 2002 Chevrolet Camaro 35th Anniversary Super Sport, a car that is classified in the ‘Sport Touring Icons’ division, the Homologation restrictions for racing within that division call for a Street tire compound, with tire width not to exceed 305. In addition, there’s a horsepower cap of 500 horsepower and an overall PI ceiling of 575.
The build shown exceeds these Homologation standards in three different areas – tire width, horsepower, and overall PI. Whilst the player could continue to build this car to their heart’s content, in order to race with this Camaro within its homologated division, the tire width will need to be lowered and the Racing Engine Block will need to be removed.

In addition, Turn 10 has introduced a new “auto-homologate” feature to Forza Motorsport 7, which is designed for players who aren’t expert tuners. This allows for any vehicle you own to be easily brought up to competition standards. With just a press of a button, you can quickly and easily bring a vehicle up to spec and able to compete in a particular event. What’s even better is that all the Homologation-necessary parts are automatically included in the price of the car at purchase, meaning you won’t need to spend extra credits to go racing in your new ride. Sweet.
For those players who do want some finer control over how they bring their cars to Homologation standards, you’ll always have a clear understanding of what the Homologation restrictions are for an event, thanks to a handy screen that displays the event restrictions and your car’s current settings. You’ll have flexibility to adjust your car upgrades and you’ll get immediate feedback if your performance crosses an event’s threshold.

Despite the Homologation system forcing all cars within a division to be competitive, it doesn’t mean that they will all behave in precisely the same way. Cars in Forza Motorsport 7 will continue to feel completely unique as fans expect them to, and this includes the highly-complex characteristics such as chassis flex, suspension architecture, wheel-base, and moment of inertia. Certain cars within homologated events will be better for specific tracks. Horsepower will be king on speed tracks like Daytona and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for example.
“The introduction of Homologation in Forza Motorsport 7 is an important evolution to our racing standards in Forza, and a feature that we believe all players will benefit from, regardless of their skill level and experience,” Ekberg added.
Overall, Homologation in Forza Motorsport 7 means players will have more cars to choose from within each division they play in. Instead of having a handful of “go-to” cars per class, Turn 10 is encouraging players to build a garage full of event-specific rides that are just waiting for their turn on the track.

Forza Motorsport 7 will be available for Ultimate Edition owners via early access on Friday, September 29th. It will be available worldwide for all customers on Tuesday, October 3rd.
What do you think of the Homologation system in Forza Motorsport 7 and do you believe it will lead to more competitive and fair events? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned for even more coverage soon!