Move over Margot Robbie, I'm a Barbie girl in Forza Horizon 5's world

In Forza Horizon 5, I've got Barbie Girl by Aqua playing on my phone as I drive around the streets of Mexico in the iconic pink 1956 Chevrolet Corvette EV. Margot Robbie, eat your heart out. I couldn't jump behind the wheel fast enough when I heard about the Forza Horizon collaboration which adds two new vehicles to celebrate the upcoming release of the highly anticipated Barbie movie. Not only is it a joy to drive around in a stylish electric Chevrolet convertible, but it also lets me recapture my childhood in the most unexpected way. 

For as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with cars. It's not that I'm a bonafide gearhead or anything. On the contrary, I admittedly don't even have a licence to drive in real life, but that hasn't stopped me from appreciating a nice set of wheels in other ways. From playing with car toys at an early age, to begging for miniature models that came with magazines, it wasn't long before my predilection spread into the world of Barbie. When I got a Barbie doll van in the signature pink shade (complete with flower stickers) for Christmas, it felt like I'd been handed the moon. 

As I got older, that love moved over to driving in video games like Crazy Taxi, Simpsons Road Rage, Midtown Madness 3, and of course, Forza Horizon. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that a crossover with Warner Bros. and Mattel was about to let me relive my childhood days.

Do you wanna go for a ride?  

The collaboration brings two cars plucked directly from Barbie Land into the world of Forza Horizon 5. Claimable as gifts in the message center, you can drive around the Chevrolet along with the Ken 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup, which is decorated with purple lightning bolt-like decals. Naturally, though, it's the shiny pink convertible that immediately gets my motor running. The Chevrolet Corvette may be miles away from the little Barbie van I used to push around on my bedroom floor, but I'm taken right back to it as I zip across the roads of Forza Horizon 5 in the pink set of wheels. 

There's an undeniable novelty factor in being able to drive a car around that's based on the Barbie movie, but its features also just give it this toy-like quality that I adore. With a quiet electric engine and shiny paint with an almost plastic sheen, it perfectly fits the Barbie aesthetic. 

And just like all of the cars in Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games has replicated the Chevrolet and brought it to life in beautiful detail. 

Before I tested out driving the car for the first time, I couldn't pass up the chance to take a closer look in Forza Vista. I've always loved the way the vehicle viewing mode lets you open and close the doors, and turn on its lights as you zoom the camera back and forth to soak in a car's design. It takes me back to my childhood days where I would delight in messing around with all of the features of my toy cars or models, and this is only intensified when it comes to a car modeled for Barbie. 

Actually driving the car around is endless fun, with the bold pink paint job and Barbie licence plate forever standing out against the cactus-filled landscapes and desert dunes of Mexico. I take to driving in races behind the wheel of the Corvette, even when it's not exactly suited to certain styles, but I actually find it's a fantastic little vehicle for drifting and I never tire of seeing it at the starting line before a race kicks off. 

The Hot Wheels expansion made me feel like a kid again thanks to the way it brilliantly realized the toy sets, and while it's not quite on the same scale, the addition of Margot's Barbie car has brought some of that magic back to Forza Horizon 5. Sometimes the world really does bring you a crossover you didn't know you needed. And it turns out life in plastic really is fantastic. 

See our pick of the best racing games you can speed your way through right now.