Let’s be honest. When Criterion Games took the wheel back from Ghost Games, everyone wanted to know if the garage was going to feel empty. It didn't. The need for speed unbound car list launched with over 140 cars, and since then, through various "Volumes" of live service updates, that number has crept up significantly. It's a weird mix. You have your usual suspects—the R34 Skylines and the BMW M3 GTRs that EA will never, ever let die—sitting right next to some genuinely bizarre choices like the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16.
It's loud. It’s stylized. But is it actually a good list?
If you're looking for a simulator, you're in the wrong place. Unbound is a street racer through and through. The car selection reflects that. You aren't going to find many sluggish SUVs unless they’ve been tuned to within an inch of their lives, and you certainly won't find Toyota. Yeah, the Supra-shaped hole in our hearts is still there. Toyota’s weird stance on "street racing" games continues to haunt the franchise, leaving Nissan and Mitsubishi to carry the JDM weight.
What’s Actually in the Need for Speed Unbound Car List?
The variety is actually kind of staggering when you stop looking for Supras. Ferrari is back in a big way after being finicky with the franchise for years. You’ve got the Testarossa, which feels like a fever dream to drive through the streets of Lakeshore, and the FXX-K Evo for when you just want to break the sound barrier.
But the real meat of the need for speed unbound car list is the customizability. This isn't just about owning a car; it's about the legendary customs.
Criterion included "Legendary Customs" versions of specific cars that completely change the silhouette. Look at the BMW M1. It’s a classic, sure. But the Unbound version? It looks like something out of a cyberpunk anime. The game thrives on this "Lakeshore" aesthetic—graffiti, cel-shaded smoke, and body kits that shouldn't legally be allowed on tarmac.
The Japanese Domestic Market Staples
Nissan is the king here. Period. You have the 180SX Type X, the Silvia Spec-R, and multiple generations of the Skyline. If you want to relive your 2003 Underground fantasies, the R34 is right there. It’s fast. It handles like it’s on rails. It’s predictably great. Honda brings the Civic Type R and the NSX, while Mazda offers the RX-7 and RX-8. It's a solid lineup, though I’d argue we could’ve used a few more "everyday" beaters. Street racing is more fun when you’re winning in a car that looks like it belongs in a grocery store parking lot.
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European Exotics and Muscle
Porsche is surprisingly well-represented. We’re talking over a dozen models. The 911 Carrera S, the GT3 RS, and even the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. They’ve basically turned the need for speed unbound car list into a Porsche showroom. On the American side, you have the heavy hitters. Ford Mustangs, Dodge Challengers, and the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Driving a muscle car in Unbound is a different beast entirely. They feel heavy. They drift wide. If you aren't careful with your throttle control, you're hitting a wall.
Why the Tier System Changes Everything
In previous games, you could basically take a starter car and beat the whole game with it if you spent enough money. Unbound tries to stop that. The need for speed unbound car list is divided into tiers: B, A, A+, S, and S+.
This is actually a smart move.
It forces you to maintain a diverse garage. You can’t just use a Bugatti Chiron for everything. You need a dedicated B-tier car for those low-stakes street races and a monstrous S+ beast for the high-intensity chases. It makes the "car list" feel less like a checklist and more like a strategic toolkit. Honestly, some of the most fun I've had was tuning a Volkswagen Golf GTI just to see how far I could push it in the A+ tier without it becoming undrivable.
The Missing Pieces
We have to talk about the absences. Beyond Toyota, the lack of Audi at launch was a massive oversight that felt weirdly personal to fans of the R8. Thankfully, later updates (specifically Volume 6) brought Audi back into the fold with the S5 Sportback and the R8 Coupé. It felt like the game was finally "complete," or at least as complete as it can be without Lexus or the aforementioned Toyota.
Then there's the weird lack of "normal" cars.
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Where’s the Volvo 240? Oh wait, it’s actually in there. But where are the others? Sometimes the most fun part of a car list is the "crap" cars. I want more 90s hatchbacks that rattle when you hit 60 mph. Unbound leans a bit too heavily into the "supercar" territory toward the end-game, which kind of kills the street-racing vibe.
The Best Cars for Each Tier (Personal Observations)
If you're staring at the need for speed unbound car list and wondering where to dump your hard-earned bank, here’s the reality. Not all cars are created equal. Some are just objectively better at handling the "burst nitrous" mechanic.
- B-Tier: The Mazda MX-5 (1996) is a monster. It’s light. It corners. It’s cheap.
- A-Tier: Look at the BMW M3 Evolution II. It’s a classic for a reason.
- A+-Tier: The Mercedes-AMG GT S is surprisingly nimble for its size.
- S-Tier: The Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV. It screams. It wins.
- S+-Tier: It’s hard to beat the Koenigsegg Regera, but the Bugatti Chiron Sport is more forgiving if you aren't a pro at managing high-speed drifts.
The Regera is a bit of a meme at this point. It’s so fast it almost breaks the game's physics. If you see one in an online lobby, you’re basically racing for second place unless the driver hits a civilian car—which, to be fair, happens a lot in Lakeshore.
Impact of Post-Launch Content
Since the 2022 release, the need for speed unbound car list has evolved. EA shifted to a "Year 2" roadmap that focused on the franchise’s legacy. This brought in cars inspired by NFS Underground and Most Wanted.
They added the Audi RS 6 Avant and the fully electric Porsche Taycan Turbo S. While some purists hate the idea of electric cars in a game built on exhaust notes, the instant torque of the Taycan is genuinely useful for escaping the aggressive Lakeshore PD. The cops in this game don't play around. They will ram you. They will use spikes. Having a car with high "strength" or "escape" potential is just as important as top speed.
Tuning Matters More Than the Model
A lot of people look at the need for speed unbound car list and just pick the one with the highest horsepower. That's a mistake. The handling slider is the most important part of the garage. You can tune a car to be 100% Grip or 100% Drift.
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In Unbound, Grip is actually viable.
In Heat, you had to drift every corner to be fast. In Unbound, if you build a high-grip Nissan GT-R, you can actually take corners like a pro racer and maintain more exit speed than someone sliding all over the place. It changes how you look at the car list. Suddenly, cars that looked "bad" on paper become top-tier contenders if they have high natural grip stats.
A Note on the Soundtrack and Aesthetics
You can't talk about the cars without the vibe. The car list is tied to the fashion and the music. When you're scrolling through the garage, you’re seeing brands like Palace and Versace. The cars are canvases. With the wrap editor, the 140+ cars effectively become infinite. The community-made wraps are insane—you’ll see everything from "Itasha" anime cars to perfect recreations of 90s rally liveries.
How to Maximize Your Garage
To actually get the most out of the need for speed unbound car list, you need to stop hoarding cash and start experimenting. The game rewards you for trying different setups.
- Don't sell your starter car immediately. You’ll need a B-tier car for a long time.
- Focus on the "Win a Car" events. Every week in the campaign has a "Win a Car" event on Friday or Saturday. These are essential. They give you high-tier vehicles for free, which saves you millions in the long run.
- Check the Challenges. A lot of cars in the multiplayer (Lakeshore Online) are locked behind challenges. You might need to finish 10 playlist races in a Ford before you can buy the one you actually want.
- Prioritize Tires and Suspension. Before you touch the engine, fix the handling. A fast car that can’t turn is just a very expensive coffin.
The need for speed unbound car list isn't perfect, but it's the most focused the series has felt in a decade. It knows what it is: a flashy, aggressive, street-culture-heavy celebration of car customization. While we might still be waiting for Toyota to stop being stubborn, there’s more than enough metal here to keep you busy for hundreds of hours.
Go into the garage, pick something weird like a Buick Grand National, and see what happens when you put a twin-turbo V12 in it. That’s the real spirit of the game anyway.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your current garage: Identify which tiers you're lacking in (B through S+) and target the "Win a Car" events in the campaign to fill those gaps without spending cash.
- Unlock the Audi R8: If you haven't played since launch, jump into the Volume updates to unlock the Audi models, which are now some of the most competitive cars in the S tier.
- Master the Grip Tune: Take a mid-tier car like the Lotus Exige S and move the handling slider to 100% Grip to see how it changes your lap times compared to a standard drift build.