5 unusual vehicles you can drive in racing games

F1 Life is a new addition to the F1 series debuting this year in F1 22. One of F1 Life’s standout features is the ability to unlock and drive supercars in the Pirelli Hot Laps mode. Codemasters has revealed the full F1 22 supercar list, but two immediately stood out to us: the safety cars.

That’s right, players can step into the racing boots of Bert Mylander and take the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series out for a spin around all the F1 tracks in the game. It’s a neat but unusual addition to the game.

This got us thinking – what other unusual vehicles can you drive in racing games?

Safety Cars – F1 22

F1 Life offers players the chance to get behind the wheel of the official F1 safety cars in time trials, along with a whole host of high-performance supercars in Pirelli Hot Laps. Players who preorder the Champions Edition can take the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series safety cars for a spin.

Although currently only limited to single-player time trials, we’re hoping future releases will let players race safety cars online. F1 22’s Senior Creative Director Lee Mather told us the game’s physics model was altered to accommodate supercars to make this feature more than just a gimmick.

We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of our favourite F1 works team’s supercars and try to beat our best times around Spa and Monza.

Halo Warthog - Forza Horizon

We all know Forza is a Microsoft exclusive, and what better way to show this off than with a famous vehicle from another Microsoft title?

Everyone who has played the Halo series will have driven the Warthog at some point, be it the epic escape sequences in Halo and Halo 3 or ripping apart the opposing team in multiplayer in nearly every series entry.

When you were playing those levels, you probably didn’t imagine racing Warthogs across the Australian, British and Mexican countryside. Well, someone in the Forza Horizon marketing department clearly did, and so the Warthog was added to the series starting in Forza Horizon 3.

The Warthog, or the AMG Transport Dynamics M12S Warthog Civilian Sport Transport to give it its full name, is a non-weaponised version of the all-terrain obliterator we know and love.

Mercedes-Benz Daimler Motor Carriage - Gran Turismo 4

First sold in 1886, the Mercedes-Benz Daimler Motor Carriage is regarded as the first car in the world. With less than one horsepower, the design of a horse carriage, and speeds of less than 20 mph, it takes over a minute and a half to complete a quarter of a mile!

Don’t even think of using this car on a track with lots of inclines - you might as well get out and walk. The Mercedes carriage is a novelty addition to Gran Turismo 4. It’s the kind of car you try and race once against your friends, only to give up before even reaching the first corner of Suzuka. Or at least it would if it was available to race outside of practice mode of course.

Speed Rocket – The Simpsons Hit and Run

From the slowest car on our list to the fastest. Fans of the Simpsons might recognise the Speed Rocket car. It only appeared in one episode (season 7 episode 18), yet it garnered enough popularity to be included in The Simpsons Hit & Run released in 2003, some seven years after the episode was broadcast.

As the name suggests, the Speed Rocket is by far the fastest car in the game, with both the highest top speed and acceleration. Normally only available in the first level of the game, the Speed Rocket can be used elsewhere by using the all cars cheat - not that we condone using cheats in games of course.

The car’s speed is heavily outweighed by its poor handling and extreme fragility, but that’s a small price to pay when you’re speeding around Springfield causing carnage.

Sofa Car - Wreckfest

We love Wreckfest. No other game lets you compete in a demolition derby while a sofa. Just imagine a full-length banger race with everyone driving round in their latest purchase from the DFS sales. Inspired by Edd China's Sofa Car, the Sofa Car in Wreckfest features wheels, a steering wheel, an engine, and exhausts poking out the armrests.

With a four-speed gearbox, terrible acceleration and a woeful top speed, Wreckfest’s Sofa Car is a novelty car rather than a utility vehicle. But the whole point of Wreckfest is to have fun, and what’s more fun than sending your friends flying over the hoardings after one ram too many?

If that isn’t enough, the engine can be upgraded. Sticking the game’s race engine into this sofa will make any trip to the fridge a whole lot quicker. You can even customise the colour scheme if the default brown isn’t to your liking.