Need for Speed: Carbon

Need for Speed: Carbon
Also known as: Need for Speed: Carbono (ES) Developer: EA Canada Publisher: EA Games Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Mac OS X Released in JP: December 21, 2006 Released in US: October 31, 2006 November 17, 2006 (PS3) November 19, 2006 (Wii) Released in EU: November 3, 2006 Released in AU: November 16, 2006 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article

This game/console's online features are no longer supported. While this game/console's online features were once accessible, they are (as of September 1, 2021) no longer officially supported and online-exclusive features may be documented as now-unseen content.

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

To do: Continue investigating into the attributes and gameplay using OGVI or NFS VLTEd, and Frontend/Global/Languages using Binary Other copies of game apparently have more unused stuff that don't exist in most copies of game

Need for Speed: Carbon is the story sequel to 2005's Most Wanted. Although it brought back the night racing and extensive car customization of the Underground series (Most Wanted took place during the day and somewhat pared down the visual customization) and introduced touge racing to the Need for Speed franchise, it isn't quite as beloved as the previous three games due to being rushed for a Fall 2006 release and is seen as the beginning of the franchise's eventual decline until its second reboot with 2009's Shift. Carbon is also confirmed to be the only Need for Speed title released on Mac.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Bonus Cars

Due to the game having been rushed for a Halloween 2006 release, as well as the limited disc space on the 6th generation systems, and to keep things mostly consistent, certain cars had their GEOMETRY.bin not complete, and with either Electronic Arts or Black Box only wanting to have two Tier 1s, four tier 2s and five tier 3 car options per car type in Career mode due to the aforementioned limitations, certain cars were restricted to Quick Race mode, with their IsCustomizable field being set to False.

However, some paid DLC and Collector's Edition included some purchasable/customizable cars, due to having four body kits and complete autosculpt parts.

Unlocking Conditions

The Chevrolet Camaro Concept and Koenigsegg CCX, which are only available in the Collector's Edition are coded to be unlocked at the beginning; due to the hashes 0x000125FD (for the CCX) and 0xC2B3A220 (for the Camaro Concept) being present in frontend customization 0xa6fac6bf (feDefaultUnlockable). By either removing or replacing the aforementioned hashes in OGVI/NFS-VLTEd, the CCX and/or Camaro Concept will no longer be unlocked by default for new save games.

Unused Prices

Several bonus cars feature unused prices for the car lot.

According to the game data in NFS-VLTEd and OGVI, these cars have prices set, but cannot be seen in the Car Lot due to their IsCustomizable field being set to False. However, setting it to True makes these cars purchasable in the Car Lot.

• Audi Le Mans quattro - $250.000
• BMW M3 GTR (E46) (Race) - $300.000
• Chevrolet Camaro Concept - $100.000
• Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 - $65.000
• Ford Shelby GT500 (S-197) - $140.000
• Koenigsegg CCX - $250.000
• Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640 - $245.000
• Lexus IS 300 (JCE10) - $27.000
• Lotus Europa S - $50.000
• Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T (Gen II) $35.000
• Pagani Zonda F - $250.000
• Plymouth Road Runner - $85.000
• Pontiac GTO (2005) - $35.000
• Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) - $245.000
• Toyota Corolla GT-S (AE86) - $15.000
• Toyota MR2 (SW20) - $25.000

(Source: Need for Speed Wiki)

DLC Cars

Three cars, namely the 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T 440, 2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe (CV35) and the 2006 Porsche 911 Turbo (997.1) can be found as a complete model, with complete bodykits (except for the 911 Turbo (997)'s first bodykit; despite having all bodykits copied from the Porsche 911 Carrera S (997.1) that was featured in the previous game), autosculpt parts, proper vinyl mapping, as well as actual performance data. They are also set to have a price tag, which is hidden due to the cars not having an unlock condition set, and technically unused in the Xbox 360 version due to their pricetags being removed upon buying the downloadable content. Since the DLC was only released for the PC and Xbox 360 releases, these cars are unattainable in the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 3 and Wii versions without hacking a save game.

Another DLC was released, with the 1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S (AE86), 2006 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (S-197 I) and 2005 Pagani Zonda F, which can only be used in Quick Race Mode due to their IsCustomizable field having been set to False. All of the aforementioned cars have two variants (their stock variants, and a pre-tuned (AE86)/recolored variant (Zonda/GT500) that can be found in the Custom car section.

To make the cars available through modding, an unlocking condition must be put on these cars using the reward/car_unlocks of the said cars, or using frontend customization 0xa6fac6bf/feDefaultUnlockable to make them available by default for new save games. The Corolla's, Zonda's and GT500’s IsCustomizable fields must also be set to True in order to appear in Career Mode/My Cars.

Unremovable Vinyls

The stock version of the 1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S (AE86), 2006 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997.1), 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454, 1968 Plymouth Road Runner 383 and the 2001 BMW M3 GTR ALMS Race Car (E46) contains an unremovable vinyl, likely due to being set up as quick-race only cars in place of an actual stock vinyl, due to containing a VinylGeneric in their PresetSkins entry. The GenericVinyl can be removed through either Binary or by changing the StockPresetSkin in NFS-VLTEd in the ecar vault to allow custom vinyls to be applied to the said cars.

Oddly enough, this oversight is also present on Nikki's Ford GT preset, which is customizable by default if she is in your crew.

Unused Unlocking Condition

The node of the Tuner car lot contains an unused rewards/car_unlocks/camaro, which indicates the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396 is unlocked just by visiting the Downtown Car Lot for the first time, which is likely a test for the rewards/car_unlocks node, as the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396 is the starter muscle car. However, the Camaro can be made unlockable by removing or replacing the 0xA10D3372 in the frontend/customization node, otherwise any car can be input for unlocking via just visiting the Tuner Car Lot.

Unused races

race_bin_casino/5_war

Initially, it would have been a Race Wars event, unlocked after beating Darius. The race (and extra0x races) itself is only included in the Spanish 1.2 PC release, Xbox 360 release . It has some missing and incorrectly-directed barriers as some of them aren't set to reverse. According to VLT data, it had 3 laps, 19 opponents (even for PC). Its name was "Platinum Condos" according to language files and it had its own track map.

race_bin_casino/extra01

A Speedtrap race that takes place in Silverton. It doesn't have any speedtraps, and the finish line is placed high in air, meaning the race can't be finished normally.

race_bin_casino/extra04

A Drift event. It takes place in the void, however according to the PlayStation 2 demo, it was supposed to take place on a cut drift track.

race_bin_casino/extra05

Ditto, except it takes place in a different position.

race_bin_casino/extra06

Ditto, except this time it takes place closer to the aforementioned track.

race_bin_casino/extra07

A Sprint race. it doesn't have barriers nor shortcut-specific coordinates.

race_bin_collectors/21_1_1_circuit

A leftover from Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005).

race_bin_demo/sf_2_1_demo02

Not to be confused with the race that is playable in demos which is sf_2_1_demo01. Appears to be identical to the aforementioned race, but with Mazda opponents.

race_bin_demo/mu_1_1_demo03

A demo race. Interestingly it takes place in Kempton, the part of Palmont's map which isn't included in any available demos. It appears to be identical to the "Beachfront" race aside from demo-specific changes such as intro cutscenes, opponents.

race_bin_drift/drag_test

A test race used for Drag game mode. This mode was scrapped prior to release. The event takes place in the void close to the drift course. Unfortunately, running the race will send you to an infinite loading screen, as the game mode is broken. Interestingly, the race progression name (used for Most Wanted for Blacklist system) is called as drift, and they were used for testing.

race_bin_drift/drift_test

A test race used for Drift game mode. Just like the Drag Test, it also takes place close to the drift course, which means either the drift course was moved or was intended to be played on a test map.

race_bin_drift/knockout_test

A test race used for Pursuit Knockout game mode, taking place in San Juan.

race_bin_drift/p2p_test

A test race used for Sprint game mode, unfortunately, aside from its entry in the Children section in its race progression, no content of the race remains in the game files.

race_bin_drift/tag_test

A test race used for Pursuit Tag game mode, taking place in San Juan.

race_bin_drift/touge_test01

A test race used for Canyons (not the game mode). It takes place in Gold Valley Run, however the coordinates for checkpoints are incorrect, which means the canyon was moved later.

race_bin_drift/touge_test02

Ditto, but it takes place in Deadfall Junction canyon. However, according to VLT data, the intro cutscene calls for IntroStaggerTEST NIS, which isn't in the final game.

race_bin_drift/touge_test03

Ditto, but it takes place in Devil's Creek Pass canyon.

race_bin_drift/touge_test04

Ditto, but it takes place on the Lookout Point canyon. This time, it has correct positions, and has a rolling start with the countdown disabled.

race_bin_exotic/extra01

A Speedtrap event taking place in Fortuna. It doesn't have barriers, and one of the checkpoints is misplaced. Interestingly, it has its own track map included in the Review build and PlayStation 2 version under a different name, and includes the road that isn't seen in the final map. If overlaid on the final map, it shows that Fortuna might've had a different layout.

race_bin_exotic/extra02

A sprint race taking place in Fortuna, it doesn't have barriers and the start line is misplaced.

race_bin_muscle/extra01

A drift race taking place in the void.

race_bin_muscle/extra02

A reverse version "Dover and Lepus" sprint, it has incorrectly-directed barriers.

race_bin_tuner/extra02

A circuit track that is identical to "North Road" race.

race_bin_tuner/extra04

A reverse version "Garden Boulevard" circuit track.

race_bin_tuner/extra05

A reverse version "Mason Street" sprint track.

race_bin_tuner/extra06

A drift race. It is identical to the race "Old Quarter", except it doesn't have barriers that block shortcuts.

race_bin_tuner/online_test

A circuit test race used for the Online mode.

Unused maps

These known unused tracks below are present in the game's GLOBALB.BIN file, although only settings of these tracks are present. The unused tracks' files (LXRX.BUN and STREAMLXRX.BUN) do exist in Japanese Xbox 360 release of the game.

(5900) (L5RJ) NIS

A track which was used to test Non-Interactive Scenes during development, this track can be also seen in pre-release developer screenshots.

(5800) (L5RI) NIS

Ditto, but this track's stream textures are either blank or missing; at least map collision is still present.

(5700) (L5RG) Drift Testing

A small, flat map for testing drifting.

(5600) (L5RF) Drift Testing

Ditto, though this map is a port of an earlier or unfinished version of Bayview Speedway from Need for Speed: Underground 2.

(5400) (L5RD) Carbon NG Test

A test map for the game on seventh generation consoles (hence its name). This track node got added and referenced early, and the track node can be also seen in Most Wanted (2005)'s GLOBALBfile. It was originally named as (5400) Repo Man in the OPM demo and Alpha 124 builds of Most Wanted (2005). It is a test for Palmont City, along with one of the earliest, if not the first versions of Downtown Palmont. Some objects are misplaced and there are invisible roads and walls in certain areas.

(2000) (L2RA) Most Wanted World

A leftover from Need for Speed: Most Wanted, this track is identical to that game's as it features the Rockport City map.

Pursuit

10 heat levels were made possible, although only 8 are used in the game with a maximum of 5 heat levels in Career Mode. Levels 9 and 10 may have been dropped for design scope or technical reasons.

• Heat Level 9 features Police Civic Cruisers.
• Heat Level 10 features multiple Sergeant Cross Corvettes.

Source: Game files: attributes.bin

Presets

Preset Errors

Overlaid bodykits

Certain presets are coded to have both the wide body kit (KITW) and stock bumpers applied at the same time, such as Cross’ 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C6), the 2001 Lamborghini Murciélago Coupe from the Collector’s Edition (CE_MURCIELAGO) or the pre-customized 2000 Lexus IS 300 (JCE10) (IS300_2).

One can simply use Binary and remove the AutosculptBumpers by blanking them out to fix the aforementioned issues.

Stacked Deck Cars

The Stacked Deck cars, namely, Kenji’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR-edition (CT9A), Angie’s Dodge Challenger Concept and Wolf’s Lamborghini Murciélago are fitted with their bodykits overlaid on top the stock body and are missing all four brakediscs.

Unused/Scrapped Presets

CE_CUDA

A scrapped preset for the 1970 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda (Gen. 3). This preset was supposed to be a pre-tuned bonus car in a similar vein to the 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BNR34), 1967 Shelby GT500, 2003 Nissan 350Z (Z33), 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI (GDB-F) and 2001 Lamborghini Murciélago Coupe having their own Collector's Edition Bonus variants, with an unused vinyl shown below.

This car would have been a metallic red HEMI Cuda equipped with Bodykit 2, Work VS-KF rims, the vinyl pictured below and light black window tint. Also, there is an oddity that the 0x02FE7D16 (which is the hash for the 1967 Shelby GT500's Collector's Edition pre-tuned bonus car) is present in two entries for the frontend customization 0xa6fac6bf, which suggests, that one of them was supposed to be used for a Bonus Hemi Cuda, but was scrapped, likely due to the lack of car slots, instead, duplicating the aforementioned hash.

• 

  The unused Cuda vinyl

• 

  The scrapped Bonus HEMI Cuda

HERO

A preset for the Toyota Supra (JZA80) that is seen in the prologue scenes of the game, seen in VLT data. This preset was cut likely due to either the lack of development time, car slots or cleanup. According to the 19th September 2006 preview prototype, and it would have been Darius' Supra, though with different Autosculpt properties and lacks color and vinyl .

M3GTR_2

An unused preset skin for the 2001 BMW M3 GTR (E46) ALMS GT. This one is painted in Carbon Black Metallic instead of Titanium Silver Metallic. This preset would have been an alternate preset skin, similar to other Tier 3 Custom Quick Race-only cars, such as the Koenigsegg CCX or Pagani Zonda F having a second recolored variant.

Nikki's lower tier cars

The in-game files indicate that Nikki was going to drive a 2005 Chrysler 300C SRT-8 (LX) for Tier 1 and a 2005 Dodge Charger SRT-8 (LX) as her Tier 2 car. In the final game, she only drives her Tier 3 car, a 2005 Ford GT (Gen.1) due to it also being coded to be her InitialCarTier1 and InitialCarTier2. The lower-tier presets can be enabled using NFS VLT-Ed, either as bonus cars or as her wingman preset by using the InitialCarTier1 and InitialCarTier2 settings and changing the preset to T1_NIKKI and T2_NIKKI.

Of note is Nikki's Ford GT lacks its brake discs, has its side skirt overlaid and its vinyl is unremovable.

• 

  Nikki's unused Tier 1 Preset (2005 Chrysler 300C HEMI SRT-8 (LX))

• 

  Nikki's unused Tier 2 Preset (2005 Dodge Charger SRT-8 (LX))

CARRERA_GRNP_7

An unused preset for the 2004 Porsche Carrera GT (980) of unknown use. This preset is notably missing its roof top, brake discs and has a broken body color.

Textures

Several unused texture files can be found in the game files of the retail game and the PlayStation 2 demo, although some may be leftover content from the overlapping development of Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005).

Some of these include SECONDARYLOGOs for cars that were not in the final game, but were deleted due to the desired car list variety (two Tier 1s, four Tier 2s and five Tier 3s per car type)

Also, the BMW M3 GTR (Race) uses a generic CARSELECT_MANUFACTURER and SECONDARY_LOGO wordmark texture instead of the actual BMW logo and the M3 GTR logo from Most Wanted (2005).

Unused Customization

Several cars were originally supposed to have 5 bodykits, according to the in-game ecar data, but because the game would be too big for the time it was being developed, and the amount of consoles the game would be released on, many returning cars from Need for Speed: Most Wanted only have 4 bodykits each, with the fifth one being deleted.

The GEOMETRY.bin for cars that had 5 kits has a skipped number (eg. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR-edition does not have a KITW01, which indicates the first bodykit was deleted likely for optimization reasons).

Unused/Unfinished Cars and Meshes

A number of cars and meshes from the predecessor can be found in the game's resources. However, they were not completed due to the development time needed, as the publisher forced Black Box to rush the game for an October 31, 2006 release, which would make the developers set a limit of two Tier 1s, four tier 2s and five tier 3 cars per type.

Some of the cars and meshes are leftovers from Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Partially Finished Cars

Two cars from the previous titles, namely, the 2000 Lexus IS 300 (JCE10) and 2005 Pontiac GTO (Gen. 5) were fully playable cars in the previous title, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, however, due to the game being rushed for an October 2006 release, the IS 300 and GTO were rendered incomplete, with only one bodykit ported from the said title (Bodykit 3 for the GTO, Bodykit 2 for the IS 300), and with a few leftover hoods from the Most Wanted (2005). As a result of the incomplete geometry, the custom hoods retain their vinyl mapping from the aforementioned title, leading to poor vinyl mapping, as well as on the GTO’s third bodykit.

Owing to their incomplete state, they have their IsCustomizable field set to False to prevent them from being bought/used in Career Mode, making them Quick-Race only cars. Changing their IsCustomizable field to True enables purchasing them in Career mode and customizing them in My Cars. Their prices are identically set as what they had in Most Wanted (2005).

The cars have their kit ported due to being used for their customized variant (IS300_2 and GTO_2), which are pre-tuned variants of the aforementioned cars for use in the Quick Race mode. However, the IS 300's customized variant is incorrectly fitted with bodykit 2 overlaid on top of the stock bumpers, which can be fixed using Binary.

Unfinished Cars

Some of these unfinished cars appear unused in sixth generation console versions of Undercover developed by Exient Entertainment, as it is a modified version of Carbon.

Audi A4 3.2 FSI quattro (B7)

The Audi A4 3.2 FSI quattro (B7) was originally supposed to be a usable car. The model is fully customizable with the exception of some Autosculpt parts or refined performance. Also, due to being unfinished, the vinyls are mapped poorly.

It has five body kits although they all have missing meshes and textures. Since only the mesh of the car is in the game files, it has no performance parts.

Cadillac CTS (Gen. 1)

The Cadillac CTS can be found in the game files of Carbon. The model has the same customization properties as the Audi A4 above with some missing Autosculpt parts, refined performance, and poorly mapped vinyls.

It has four body kits without meshes nor textures. Since only the mesh of the car is in the game files, it has no performance parts.

Mazda Mazda3 (BK3P)

The Mazda3 is one of the unfinished cars intended for the game, The model does not have any stock rims, interior, performance parts, bodykits, nor hoods. It even causes game crashes when the player scrolls to the rear bumper in the Autosculpt section.

A model fix was made for the Mazda 3 that restores the car, by converting the hoods and bodykits from the MazdaSpeed 3, and the stock rims come from the Mazda RX-8.

It was likely scrapped due to the higher performance Mazda MazdaSpeed 3 already existing.

Porsche 911 Turbo S (996.2)

The Porsche 911 Turbo S (996.2)'s model can be found in the game files. Fully customizable model with the exception of some Autosculpt parts or refined performance.

The 911 Turbo S (996.2) has four body kits although they all have missing elements including headlights and an interior mesh, however, the stock body kit is made up of a single sphere mesh for the purpose of testing and refining car shader materials. Also, the model does not contain any autosculpt materials, which can crash the game if the player scrolls to the rear bumper section. Also, the car lacks a SlotOverrides entry for its spoilers, which makes it use regular instead of Porsche-oriented spoilers. Also, due to the incomplete geometry, vinyls are poorly mapped on the aftermarket hoods.

Porsche 911 Carrera S (997.1)

The Porsche 911 Carrera S (997.1)'s model can be found in the game files. Fully customizable model with the exception of some Autosculpt parts or refined performance.

It has five body kits although they all have missing elements and textures. Since only the mesh of the car is in the game files, it has no performance parts, as it lacks a pvehicle and ecar node. Like the 911 Turbo S (996.2), the car lacks a SlotOverrides entry for its spoilers, which makes it use regular spoilers instead of Porsche-oriented ones. Also, the vinyls are mapped poorly on the 5th bodykit and on the aftermarket hoods.

Volkswagen Golf GTI (Mk.V)

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is fully customizable with the exception of some Autosculpt parts or refined performance.

It has four body kits with missing elements and textures. Since only the mesh of the car is in the game files, it has no performance parts. Also, due to being unfinished, the vinyls are mapped poorly.

It was likely replaced by the higher performance 2005 Volkswagen Golf R32 (Mk.V) during development.

Unused strings

The strings are located in multiple files, each one that are meant for Frontend, Global and Ingame.

Event Names

The track names that are not used by any route are referred in language files:

Mount Kempton Drift
Silverton Peak Drift
Kenji Battle
Angie's Last Resort
Engage the Wolf
Platinum Condos

Cutscene subtitles

Several sentences from cutscenes were either removed or shortened in the final game. Some of them can be seen in the Collectors Edition videos such as Page To Picture, Characters and On Set. Most of the dialogues can be found in the game files.

Attract

The string below was used in Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation 2 demos.

• "Yeah. I heard you were back in town. Now I want to hear you're gone." - Kenji

Seq01_Opening

• "I can't believe Darius gave you this car. Start it up, let's hear it." - Nikki
• "I think you're ready, I think you're going to blow them away." - Nikki or Darius
• "I don't have time for this, you...you know what? This is..." - Darius
• "I have suspect party in custody. Suspect is code 5 and I'm still code 8. Repeat, code 8 assistance required. Hey! Don't move! Suspect is resisting arrest. We have a code 8 here. Get 'em cuffed!" - Several police officers

Seq02_Busted

"Whoa! Damn! My bad Romeo, my bad. Look, we'll catch up real soon. You have yourself a nice night. (Laughing)" - Jonathan Cross

Seq05_Safehouse

• "Listen. I... I'm not saying you wouldn't have won but were you watching when I put that guy into the wall?" - Neville
• "Hey, Nikki. You miss me?" - Neville
• "Wha... What's to put up with?" - Neville
• "Nothing, ah you're a nice guy." - Sal

Seq06_SamsonFlashback

• "Hey! Stop! Freeze! I got ya! Get down on the ground!" - Unknown police officer

Seq07_Restaurant

• "How'd you hear?" - Darius
• "A friend mentioned it." - Darius' Henchmen
• "Is this because I had a thing for him? That's ancient." - Nikki
• "What's gotten into you?" - Nikki or Darius
• "Not all races are won on the track." - Nikki or Darius

Seq08_YumiFlashback

• "I usually notice things everyone else misses, like, faster routes. Kenji, he can tune cars, but he just can't see what's in front of his face you know?" - Yumi
• "Hey! Freeze! Police! Don't move! Stay there! Hold it! Hands in the air!!" - Unknown police officer

Seq09_NikkiFlashback

• "Step out of your vehicles! Hands on your heads! Units 1 and 5, containment! Get on containment!" - Unknown police officer

Seq10_ColinFlashback

• "I just want to win. What about you?" - Colin

Seq13_HeroWins

• "Congratulations, I always knew you could do it. But you know there's someone else in town who hasn't quite tested you out there yet. What do you say? You and me?" - Nikki

Unused Sounds

Unused Engine Sounds

There are many unused car sound entries left in the game's code. Many of them are leftovers from Underground 2 and Most Wanted (2005).

• ac_integ
• aud_s4
• bmw_m3_e
• bmw_m5_a
• chry_srt8_a - Only the engine variation is used.
• chv_cav_a
• chv_cav_b
• dodg_duster
• for_foc_a
• for_foc_b
• hon_s2k_a
• hon_s2k_b
• hon_s2k_e
• hon_prel
• maz_miat
• mit_lanc_9
• nis_300zx
• pag_zondaf - The 2006 Pagani Zonda F instead uses the Lamborghini Gallardo's V10 sounds instead.
• plym_cuda_a - The Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda uses the "dodg_polara" sound instead.
• por_911_b
• por_928
• por_996 - It's properly used by the stock Porsche Cayman S (987) and 911 Turbo (997) models in the PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and Wii releases. The PS3, Xbox 360 and PC releases only use the engine variation.
• sine_test
• sub_wrx_b
• vw_cab
• vw_gti
• vw_jet_m3
• vw_r32 - Only the exhaust version is used.
• vw_scir

Non-playable Traffic Cars

• Ambulance
• Camper
• Cement Truck
• Coupe
• Traffic variant of Dump Truck
• Player drivable Police State Cruiser
• Player drivable Cross unit
• Pizza Delivery Car
• Police Helicopter for pursuits
• Truck hauling an Autozone trailer
• Truck hauling boxes
• Truck hauling containers
• Truck hauling pipes
• Tank Truck
• Truck without trailer
• A player drivable truck without trailer

(Source: Need for Speed Wiki)

Crew

Manic is a cut Crew Member listed in the game files. It is unknown which would have been their initial crew, or which role they would have in the game's story, or Manic could've been a test for the Crew Member system.

Source: Game files: gameplay.bin; Entry "characters/manic"

Platform differences

• PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and Wii versions have several major differences from PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions:
  • An alternate flag girl is used in race intro cutscenes alongside.
  • There can only be up to 4 cars in races instead of 8.
  • Race Wars game mode is missing.
  • Online multiplayer is missing and, as such, so are associated reward cards.
  • Cutscenes are simplified, missing character models with facial animations.
• Several licensed songs are shortened in the GameCube version.
• PS3 version has slightly different graphics.
• PC version is missing split screen mode.

Version differences

Collector's Edition

The Collector's Edition is a special edition of Need for Speed: Carbon that was made available for the PlayStation 2, PC and Xbox 360 platforms.

• Four exclusive cars
  • 1991 Nissan 240SX SE Fastback (S13)
  • 2007 Jaguar XK (X150)
  • 2006 Chevrolet Camaro Concept
  • 2006 Koenigsegg CCX.

NOTE: The 240SX and XK are unlocked by completing the exclusive Challenge Series events, while the Camaro and CCX can only be used in Quick Race, unless their IsCustomizable fields are set to True, which, they are coded to be unlocked at game start, due to 0x000125FD and 0xC2B3A220 being present in frontend customization 0xa6fac6bf.

• Ten exclusive pre-tuned Bonus Cars.
  • 2005 Dodge Charger SRT-8 (LX) (CE_CHARGER)
  • 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept (CE_CHALLENGER)
  • 2001 Lamborghini Murciélago Coupe (CE_MURCIELAGO)
  • 2003 Nissan 350Z (Z33) (CE_350Z)
  • 1991 Nissan 240SX SE Fastback (S13) (CE_240SX)
  • 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R34) (CE_SKYLINE)
  • 2004 Porsche Carrera GT (980) (CE_CARRERAGT)
  • 1967 Shelby GT500 (CE_GT500)
  • 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi (GDB-F) (CE_IMPREZA)

NOTE: These presets can be found in the Bonus section. Most of these presets have a unique vinyl that can only be installed if the Special Vinyls are enabled with Extra Options. All presets have all performance upgrades installed, except for the Dodge Challenger Concept, due to ce_challenger lacking a presetride entry.

• Two vinyl categories
  • Camouflage
  • Pinstripes
• Three Challenge Series sections with 9 events total
  • A Checkpoint Challenge Series to unlock the 1991 Nissan 240SX SE Fastback (S13), using each of the Stacked Deck boss cars.
    • The Bronze challenge uses Angie's 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept
    • The Silver challenge uses Wolf's 2001 Lamborghini Murciélago VT
    • The Gold challenge uses Kenji's 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR (CT9A)
  • A Race Wars Challenge Series to unlock the 2007 Jaguar XK (X150)
  • A pursuit Challenge Series to unlock the Camouflage and Pinstripes Vinyls
• Twelve exclusive Quick Race events
  • Three circuit events
    • Campbell Tunnel, Robinson Bay, South Fortuna
  • Three sprint events
    • Blackwell Bridge, Francis Tunnel, Mason St Bridge
  • Six drift events
    • Billings District, Fortuna Heights, Old Quarter, Palmont University, Shady Pine, Starlight Strip

Regional differences

Certain cars had their names changed, such as the Nissan 350Z (Z33) being renamed as Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33), Mazdaspeed 3 (BK) being renamed Mazdaspeed Axela (BK), Clio V6 Renault Sport renamed Lutecia V6 Renault Sport in the Japanese version of the game.

Inaccessible online game modes

Two game modes: Pursuit Tag and Pursuit Knockout is exclusively for online only. However due to EA closing the official server on September 1, 2021 these two game modes are practically unusable.

Oddities

Kenji's license plate

Kenji's unique license plate can seen via debug camera (or a mod can remove license plate) and the prologue cutscene.

Direct Map Porting

Carbon and the PS2 and Wii versions of Undercover are very similar on a technical level, so much so that it's possible to directly replace the world files with the ones from Undercover and have the game start. However, the skybox tends to glitch, leading to Z-fighting, and none of the crew-specific safehouses are present, but their positions still remain.