Forza Motorsport 3 Manufacturer Showcase Vol. 1

Whether speed conjures up images of limited production American muscle or advanced European supercar designs, you’ll find a car to meet your tastes in “Forza Motorsport 3.”

In honour of GamesCom in Germany, we start this week’s reveal with the 2008 Audi A4 Touring Car and 2009 BMW M3 GT2 #92 Rahal Leterman Racing models. Weighing in at just over 1 tonne and featuring 476 horsepower, the Audi A4 Touring covers a lot of ground in very little time. The BMW M3 GT2 #92 Rahal Leterman Racing will challenge most players, sporting 491-horses, tons of mechanical grip and 50/50 weight distribution.

In addition to the German powerhouses, Forza 3 will showcase one of the most powerful, expensive and rarest of all Lamborghinis, the Reventon. The 2008 Lamborghini Reventon is a full-tilt thrill ride that will leave even the gutsiest of drivers with a fevered brow and white knuckles. The supercar’s V12 unleashes 641 horsepower. It costs over a million dollars and only 20 were ever produced.

The all-American 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 may cost less than many of its European counterparts but will still give them a run for their money at the track. With generous amounts of supercharged V8 power, carbon ceramic brakes and a barely detuned race suspension, the 638-horsepower ZR1 can hit speeds of more than 300 km/h.

We round out Volume 1 of our Manufacturer Showcase series with a couple of highly regarded, high performance speedsters – the 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec and 1993 Ford SVT Cobra R. Built with the racer in mind, the 1993 Cobra R was stripped down of everything but the bare essentials. Larger brakes, stiffer coil springs, Koni shocks, larger anti roll bars and a strut tower brace were added to increase performance. Only 107 1993 Cobra R models were ever produced making it one of the rarest, fastest, and most collectible Fox Body Mustangs of all time. Finally, the 1997 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec rides lower than standard GT-Rs with race-tuned shocks and springs. Skyline GT-Rs have one of the biggest upsides on Forza 3 from a modification standpoint so consider effort in the tuning garage time well spent.

“Forza Motorsport 3” is rated G will be available in October 2009.

For a deeper dive on the cars in this week’s reveal, please visit http://forza.xbox.com.