M12S Warthog CST

The M12S Warthog Civilian Sport Transport (M12S CST) is a civilian transport alternative to its militaristic cousin, the M12B Force Application Vehicle.

Design details
The 2554 version of the M12S Warthog is approximately twenty-five percent smaller and thirty percent lighter than the militarized M12B Warthog FAV, while having paint jobs derived from the 2558 M12B model. As a civilian model of the Warthog, the M12S inevitably lacks any form of armament. The M12S has two seats, one for the driver and the other for a passenger.

Like the 2554 version of the M12 FAV, this version of the Warthog uses a version of the second chassis. It also features an SLED searchlight and a rear-mounted antenna at the passenger side. The M12S, as with the standard Warthog, is a front-biased vehicle, with 54% of its weight distribution set to the front. The M12S also uses a similar duel spring suspension to keep the vehicle stable in different environments. The size of both the front and rear tires is 420/60R20. Unlike the Halo versions of the Warthog, the M12S Warthog CST's cluster gauges are not static.

The M12S's tires are at the default tire pressure setting of 30.0 psi (2.1 bar). The M12S has neutral camber on both front and rear and lacks toe-in and toe-out. Its front caster angle is 5.0 degrees. In addition, its anti-roll bars are extremely stiff, with 2.38 for the front and 2.53 for the rear. The M12S has a stock ride height of 57.7 cm (22.7 inches) and has a front spring stiffness of 307.2 lb/in (5.49 kgf/mm) and a rear spring stiffness of 319.7 lb/in (5.71 kgf/mm). It has very soft rebound and bump stiffness, with 3.3 and 3.1 for front and rear rebound stiffness, respectively, and 3.0 and 2.8 for front and rear bump stiffness, respectively.

There are three other manufacturer colors available for the M12S Warthog:
 * Urban
 * ONI
 * Corp

Engine
Unlike the M12 and M12B FAV, the M12S lacks the more ubiquitous four-wheel steering in an effort to sacrifice low-speed maneuverability for better high-speed handling and performance-wheel steering. The M12S features an 8 liter (8,003 cc; 488.4 cu in) twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 720 hp (537 kW; 730 PS) and 855 ft·lb (1,160 N·m) of torque, as opposed to the 12.0 liter liquid-cooled, hydrogen-injected internal combustion engine that its FAV counterpart contains, making the M12S significantly faster. The V8 has a specific power output of 90 hp (67 kW; 91 PS) per liter, a bore/stroke ratio of 108 mm×109 mm (4.25 in×4.29 in), a redline set to 6,500 rpm, and a fuel cutoff threshold set to 6,900 rpm. It also has a power-to-weight ratio of 313 hp (233 kW; 317 PS) per tonne, or 7.04 lb (3.19 kg) per horsepower. This version also has 27.6 in of total suspension travel and an advanced dampening system. As with the M12 FAV, the engine is housed in an openable compartment at the front of the vehicle. This Warthog is equipped with permanent all-wheel drive.

The front differential is set to 100% on acceleration and 0% on deceleration, while the rear differential is set to 100% on both acceleration and deceleration. The M12S Warthog has an 86% / 14% rear/front center differential balance.

When set to the default tune, the M12S's top speed is shown as 184.3 km/h. It has an actual maximum speed of 192 km/h, a 53.6% increase from its Halo counterparts, though gearing, while adjustable by default, is limited at such speeds. It has the following gear ratios:

The M12S Warthog can reach a speed of 97 km/h in 3.7 seconds, while being capable of reaching a speed of 161 km/h in 9.81 seconds; in-game, though, it accomplishes these in 5 and 13.8 seconds, respectively. The M12S can traverse a distance of a quarter mile in 12.4 seconds at a speed of 176.1 km/h. In addition, the M12S can brake from 97 km/h to a stop in 164 ft and 161 km/h to a stop in 356 ft. The vehicle's mid-housed transmission is a 6-speed automatic with manual override. The M12S Warthog boasts heavy duty, offroad, double wishbone suspension at both the front and rear of the vehicle. The suspension travel (full droop to full compression) is 0.7 meters (27.6 inches). The M12S Warthog CST utilizes a 35 centimeter (14 inch) disc brake, as does the M12 FAV. The M12S Warthog CST is capable of 0.89 lateral Gs at 97 km/h and 0.88 at 193 km/h on offroad tires.

Transcript
"Ah, what to say about this. The M12 Force Application Vehicle: the finest auto ever to roll off the AMG Transport Dynamics production line. Colloquially known as the 'Warthog.' It sports a 8003cc, 8 liter liquid-cooled hydrogen-injected engine, and a near indestructible polycarbonate body. Just what you need when you're dodging searing hot balls of plasma. Ferrari and Porsche may have their F1 and Le Mans (sic) championship records, but this... this helped saved humanity. And it didn't just do it once; It did it like, a dozen times."

- Forzavista description

Gameplay
The M12S Warthog CST is a top-end Class A vehicle with the following statistics:

Advantages
Being AWD, the M12S Warthog CST is capable of a strong launch off the line without any wheelspin and features the best handling among the Extreme Offroad vehicles, only bested by several Rally Monsters vehicles. With its superior handling and braking over most other offroad-oriented vehicles partly thanks to its AWD drivetrain, which also gives it superior launch over most other AWD vehicles in the game, the M12S Warthog CST is ideal for offroad applications, including Cross Country races. With proper driving skill, it is capable of reaching at least top 25 in Class A Rivals leaderboards on short Cross Country Circuit or Scramble routes.

Disadvantages
With a stock Speed rating of only 4.3 (out of a maximum of 10; 5.2 in Forza Horizon 4), owed to by its aforementioned top speed of 192 km/h, the M12S Warthog CST's top speed is among the lowest of all the Extreme Offroad vehicles, making it unsuitable for long distance racing and leaving it at the mercy of the likes of other offroad-oriented vehicles like the Local Motors Rally Fighter and Opel Manta 400, and obviously, hypercars/supercars like the McLaren Senna, Koenigsegg Jesko, and Porsche Carrera GT. Even with gearing adjusted for higher top speed, it is still disadvantaged by its slower acceleration at speeds above 180 km/h, discouraging the use of this vehicle for drag races past a quarter mile (402 m). In addition, the Warthog is very limited with its upgrades, with only the tires, rims, and drivetrain being upgradable (including the RWD swap). In Class A, the Ford F-150 Raptor and Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 are superior, especially on longer routes.

Changes from Forza Horizon 3 to Forza Horizon 4

 * The vehicle can now be purchased from the Autoshow normally for 850,000 CR.
 * It has a Legendary rarity, making it very rare in Horizon Wheelspins, although it has a greater chance of being in Super Wheelspins.
 * Performance Index has been changed:
 * Faster acceleration and higher top speed. 0 - 97 km/h is now done in 3.8 seconds and 0 - 161 km/h in 9.6 seconds, while top speed is now 194 km/h.
 * Braking distance increased.
 * Improved handling. It now corners with 0.93 lateral Gs at 97 km/h and 0.92 at 193 km/h.
 * Antiroll bars are softer, with both front and rear now set to 1.00.
 * Springs are softer, with front at 201.6 lb/in (3.60 kgf/mm) and rear at 171.7 lb/in (3.07 kgf/mm).
 * Lowered ride height, at 50.0 cm (19.7 inches).
 * Softer bump stiffness, with front at 1.0 and rear at 0.9.
 * Sounds are now played when the M12S CST's engine bay cover is removed and restored in Forzavista.
 * The rear antenna now vibrates extensively when the vehicle is moving at high speed.
 * The engine note has been drastically altered.
 * The vehicle's performance stats now very slightly change with each season.
 * Can now have its default engine upgraded, including the ability to have it swapped out for the RJ Anderson Pro 2 Truck's Racing 7.2L V8.

Behind the scenes
The M12S was created for the Forza Horizon racing video game franchise, debuting in Forza Horizon 3 as a playable vehicle. To unlock the M12S in Forza Horizon 3, a free download to everyone who had played either Halo 5: Guardians or Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One would be available. Eligible players would receive codes to download the Warthog via an Xbox Live Message, and codes were sent out between September 6, 2016 and September 23, 2016. In addition, players who did not play an Xbox One Halo game later had the chance to earn the Warthog via special #Forzathon events that were added to Forza Horizon 3 in October 2016 (The Halo Weekender), February 2017 (Who Wants Seconds?), January 2018 (Hot and Heavy Horizon), and March 2018 (Play in the Mud), or through the in-game Auction House.

The M12S reappears in Forza Horizon 4. It is featured as the main vehicle of the Showcase Event named The Halo Experience Showcase, with John-117 behind the wheel; the event was officially unveiled in the September 2018 edition of Forza Monthly.

The M12S was revealed on September 7, 2021 as one of hundreds of vehicles coming to Forza Horizon 5 on its release date of November 9, 2021.

Trivia

 * The M12S Warthog CST is used in the seventh item on the Horizon Australia Bucket List, which requires players to "search for the Silent Cartographer".
 * Unlike the M12 Warthog in Forza Motorsport 4, instead of Cortana narrating the M12S Warthog's Forzavista description, Warren narrates it.
 * In the M12S Warthog CST's Forzavista narration, Warren erroneously claims that the vehicle has an 8.0 liter hydrogen-injected engine. Only the non-M12S Warthog models have hydrogen-injected engines, albeit with a 12.0 liter displacement, while the M12S has an 8.0 liter twin-turbocharged V8.
 * "Le Mans" is also misspelled as "Le Mann" in the subtitles.
 * The M12S has no Forzavista narration in Forza Horizon 4, due to the removal of Forzavista narrations from Forza Motorsport 7 onwards.
 * In the internal game files of Forza Horizon 3 and Forza Horizon 4, the M12S Warthog is named "343_Warthog_15", with "343" being an obvious reference to 343 Industries and "15" referring to 2015, the year of Halo 5: Guardians's release.
 * "343" is used in the internal game files as the three-character name for AMG Transport Dynamics, presumably to avoid confusion with the Mercedes-AMG performance sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz, the latter two of which are named as "MER" in the internal game files.
 * If the player creates a design for the M12S CST and selects a manufacturer decal to put on the vehicle, the player has access to five unique manufacturer decals: three variations of the post-Human-Covenant War UNSC logo and two identical variations of the Liang-Dortmund Corporation logo.
 * The "Corp" manufacturer color lacks the full Liang-Dortmund emblems on the front hood of the vehicle, further extending the white stripe to the edges of the vehicle.
 * Despite that it can be heard backfiring, no exhaust flames can be seen coming out of the M12S CST due to having no visible exhaust pipes modeled.
 * If customized with different rims (e.g. HRE P40SC), it is possible to see the M12S CST's brake calipers. However, the M12S CST's brakes never heat up even under heavy braking, unlike other cars in the series.
 * This is likely because these brake calipers are poorly detailed or modeled and the M12S CST's brakes cannot be upgraded either.
 * In Forza Horizon 3, a glitch sometimes exists in Forzavista where if the player opens the M12S CST's engine bay, a pitch black graphic obscures part of the engine bay.
 * When the M12S CST appears as a non-player-controlled model (e.g. in Forzavista), its cluster gauges revert back to the static ones (with "125 KPH" speed readings) found in the interiors of the Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians Warthogs.
 * As of the Series 11 update (July 2019) in Forza Horizon 4, the red crosses on the medical kits in the M12S CST have been permanently removed, just like with the health packs in the Halo series.
 * The reason for the red crosses' removal is that the International Red Cross objects to the use of red cross symbols in inappropriate contexts. In 2006, the Red Cross took the position that use of red cross symbols in video game "health kits" is inappropriate, and game developers ceased using them.