The best hidden discoveries in Need for Speed Unbound are scattered across Lakeshore City: Kennedy Test Track jumps, tucked-away Bear Champs, hard-to-spot Street Art walls, and visual nods to the series’ underground-tuning past. You can find most of them without finishing the story, but the trick is leaving the obvious event route and using free roam during daylight, when collectibles and side roads are far easier to read.
This guide focuses on the secrets that are genuinely worth hunting on PC, not random piles of cash you will forget five minutes later. You will get practical directions, what each discovery unlocks, which car types make the search painless, and PC settings that keep the city readable at speed. For a broader look at hidden rewards in another open-world racer, Steamoz’s secret locations guide for Everspace 2 has the same treasure-hunting mindset.
1. Kennedy Test Track Is Lakeshore’s Best Shortcut Playground
Kennedy Test Track, in the northern part of Lakeshore, looks like a normal industrial racing area until you stop treating it like a destination. Its long straights, concrete barriers, service roads, and elevated track sections create several routes that are useful in both free roam and Linkups. The most important discovery is not a single collectible; it is learning how the track’s edges connect to nearby roads.
How to search it efficiently
Start at the main entrance and drive one complete lap without entering an event. Check the outside perimeter first, especially the access roads running beside the banked sections. Then return through the infield and look for ramps that launch you toward barriers, billboards, or alternate asphalt. Some jumps are obvious from the road, while others only become visible when you approach them from the service lane.
A high-ground-clearance car helps here. The Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender 110, and other off-road-friendly vehicles handle the broken surfaces better than a lowered hypercar. If you are hunting billboards, a medium-speed approach is smarter than a full-throttle launch: landing squarely matters more than distance, and a bad angle can dump you into a wall or reset your momentum.
| Search Zone | What to Look For | Best Approach | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main track exterior | Ramps and billboard angles | Drive a slow perimeter lap | Reveals alternate launch lines |
| Infield service roads | Shortcuts and hidden access lanes | Use a balanced A- or B-class car | Useful for escaping pursuits |
| Elevated track approaches | Jumpable barriers | Brake before the crest | Prevents awkward landings |
| Industrial outskirts | Street Art and collectible markers | Search in daylight | Walls and icons are easier to spot |
The real payoff is route knowledge. During a high-heat escape, the police expect you to stay on the broad road. Cutting through Kennedy’s service lanes can break line of sight, especially if you combine a sharp turn with a Burst Nitrous activation. You do not need a maxed-out S+ car to exploit it; a controllable A-class build is often better because it gives you more braking room.
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View on Steammoz Store →2. Hunt Bear Champs Before You Chase Another Race
Bear Champs are among Unbound’s most charming secrets. These colorful bear collectibles are positioned around Lakeshore City, often beside businesses, underpasses, parking areas, and roads you normally blast through without looking. They are not just decorative props: smashing through them contributes to your collectible progress and makes the city feel much more deliberately layered.
The fastest Bear Champs route
Open the world map and zoom into districts rather than staring at the entire city. Collectible markers become much easier to isolate when you work neighborhood by neighborhood. Begin in Downtown Lakeshore and move outward through University Central, Apolonia District, and the industrial roads near Kennedy Test Track. These dense areas let you collect several markers in one daylight session with minimal travel.
Use a car with responsive steering and predictable low-speed grip. A drift-heavy build can be fun in events, but it is surprisingly annoying for collectibles because a tiny steering input can send you past a bear or into traffic. Turn off unnecessary visual clutter if your monitor makes small objects difficult to identify, and drive with the camera pulled back far enough to see sidewalks and building fronts.
Bear Champs are also a good reason to learn the difference between a collectible marker and a nearby event marker. The map can look crowded, particularly after you unlock several activities. Clear a small district, return to the garage, and repeat. This creates a simple progress rhythm instead of turning the entire map into a wall of icons.
| District Type | Likely Bear Champ Placement | Recommended Car Trait | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown blocks | Sidewalks, storefronts, parking entrances | Quick steering response | Searching only from the main boulevard |
| University Central | Walls, courtyards, underpasses | Good braking stability | Confusing campus ramps with event routes |
| Industrial districts | Warehouses and fenced service roads | Moderate ground clearance | Assuming every locked-looking lane is inaccessible |
| Outer highways | Roadside structures and ramps | High-speed stability | Passing the marker before reacting |
Do not combine this hunt with a hot pursuit unless you enjoy turning a collectible run into a police chase. Finish the search in daylight, bank your cash, and only then start a night session. It sounds obvious, but it saves a lot of frustration when a cruiser clips you beside the one bear you have been missing for an hour.
3. Street Art Turns Lakeshore Into a Massive Gallery
Street Art collectibles are easy to overlook because they blend into the visual noise of Unbound. Lakeshore is packed with murals, painted shutters, underpass graphics, and oversized pieces mounted high on building walls. The collectible version is usually positioned where the art can be reached by road, but the angle is not always obvious. If you see a marker and cannot find the mural, stop trying to approach it from the nearest intersection.
Use the camera, not just the map
When you arrive at a Street Art marker, circle the block slowly and use the right-stick camera to scan above storefront height. Many players look only at ground level and assume the marker is bugged. Others find the wall but miss the required line because a concrete divider blocks the first approach. Reverse out, take the block from the opposite direction, and look for a clean run-up.
Graffiti collection is also a great way to discover Lakeshore’s environmental storytelling. The artwork gives different neighborhoods a distinct identity, while the surrounding alleyways reveal shortcuts that are rarely useful in a standard race but excellent for losing cops. Downtown pieces reward careful navigation; warehouse murals reward patience around fences and loading bays; outer-district art often sits beside jump routes and open dirt.
Keep your map open after collecting one piece and check whether the next marker sits across a river, freeway, or rail line. The fastest route is not always the shortest visual line. A missed turn can send you into a dead-end yard, costing more time than simply taking the main road around.
For comparison, here is the best way to prioritize the city’s collectible types:
| Collectible | Visibility | Navigation Difficulty | Best Hunting Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Champs | Medium | Low to medium | Day |
| Street Art | Low when viewed from the wrong angle | Medium | Day |
| Billboards | High once the jump is found | Medium to high | Day or early night |
| Map activities | High | Low | Any time |
If you enjoy collectible-heavy open worlds, Steamoz’s guide to secret locations and hidden rewards makes a useful companion read. The same rule applies here: search by district, not by random driving.
4. The BMW M3 GTR Is Unbound’s Loudest History Lesson
The BMW M3 GTR is not an obscure secret in the traditional sense—you can buy and customize it—but the car is one of the game’s most obvious Easter eggs for longtime fans. Its connection to Need for Speed Most Wanted is impossible to miss, especially when you recreate the blue-and-silver race livery and pair it with aggressive bodywork.
How to build the reference car
Start with the BMW M3 GTR and choose a blue base color, silver or gray lower panels, and a black hood if you want the classic silhouette. Keep the graphics clean rather than stacking modern neon effects over the design. The point is the shape and livery: wide stance, racing attitude, and that unmistakable color combination.
For performance, do not automatically push it into S+ class. A balanced A- or S-class setup makes the car more enjoyable in ordinary Lakeshore traffic, where acceleration, braking, and corner exit matter more than a huge top-speed number. A high-grip configuration is easier for collectibles and city shortcuts, while a controlled drift setup fits the game’s style but requires more throttle discipline.
Another worthwhile callback is the way Unbound mixes grounded car photography with animated driving effects. The colorful character and tire-smoke effects are not a secret unlock, but they deliberately contrast the realistic vehicle models—a visual bridge between classic street-racing fantasy and the modern series.
For official vehicle and platform information, check the official Need for Speed Unbound page and the Steam listing. Car availability and customization options can vary by edition and post-launch content, so those pages are safer than relying on an old forum list.
5. A$AP Rocky’s 190E and the Hidden Car Culture Details
A$AP Rocky’s role in Unbound is more than a celebrity cameo. His Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 acts as a rolling tribute to the game’s obsession with tasteful street builds: an older chassis, a serious performance identity, and styling that looks earned rather than randomly expensive. You encounter the car through the story, but the Easter egg is in how much visual language the game borrows from real tuner culture.
What to notice during the story
Pay attention to the contrast between Lakeshore’s polished downtown spaces and the rougher industrial zones. The game repeatedly frames cars against murals, elevated rail lines, warehouses, and parking structures. Those backdrops are not accidental filler; they mirror the locations where real car communities gather and where a build’s details are easiest to appreciate.
The 190E also highlights a useful build lesson. Older cars often reward restraint. Do not max every visual slider immediately. Pick one direction—OEM-plus, period race car, or widebody street machine—and make the wheels, stance, and paint support it. The same approach works on the BMW M3 GTR, Nissan Silvia K’s, Mazda RX-8, and other cars that can quickly become visually messy when every part is installed at once.
When exploring for secrets, use the camera and Photo Mode to inspect these details. Photo Mode is especially useful for finding whether a mural, sign, or car graphic is a reference or simply environmental decoration. The strongest Easter eggs in Unbound are often visual rather than reward-based, so slowing down is part of the hunt.
PC Settings That Make Hidden Routes Easier to Spot
Secret hunting is much easier when the game holds a stable frame rate. A sudden hitch at a jump, a blurry wall texture, or aggressive motion blur can hide the exact object you are looking for. On PC, prioritize consistent frame pacing over blindly selecting Ultra. The game’s official service updates information is worth checking before troubleshooting, while Steamoz’s PC settings guide for Far Cry 6 explains the same performance-first approach in another demanding open world.
A practical 1080p and 1440p profile
At 1080p, a modern six-core CPU and a midrange GPU can usually target 60 frames per second with sensible settings. At 1440p, reduce reflections and volumetric effects before sacrificing texture quality. Textures help you read Street Art and building detail; reflections cost more during night driving and wet-road scenes.
| Setting | Recommended Value | FPS Impact | Visual Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | Native 1080p or 1440p | Very high | Use upscaling only after native testing |
| Texture Quality | High | Low to medium | Keeps murals and car detail sharp |
| Shadow Quality | Medium or High | Medium | Medium is a strong performance compromise |
| Reflection Quality | Medium | Medium to high | Lower it first for night-race stability |
| Volumetric Effects | Medium | Medium | Reduces fog and lighting spikes |
| Motion Blur | Off for collecting | Minimal | Makes small objects easier to identify |
| Upscaling | Quality mode if needed | Positive | Watch for shimmering on signs and fences |
| V-Sync | Match your display strategy | Variable | Use a frame cap if frame pacing feels uneven |
Cap the frame rate slightly below your monitor’s refresh rate if you are using adaptive sync. A stable 58 or 72 FPS feels better than a graph that swings between 90 and 45 while you search a tight alley. If the game stutters, update your GPU driver, close overlays, and test borderless versus exclusive fullscreen. For broader PC troubleshooting habits, see Steamoz’s crash and FPS fixes guide.
Build a Secret-Run Car Instead of Using Your Fastest Car
Your quickest car is not automatically your best exploration car. For collectibles, jumps, and hidden shortcuts, choose predictable handling, strong braking, and enough acceleration to recover after a bad landing. A controllable A-class car is usually the sweet spot: fast enough to cross the city quickly, but not so powerful that every turn becomes a correction exercise.
| Exploration Goal | Ideal Handling | Useful Car Type | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Champ route | Grip-biased and responsive | Compact tuner or balanced muscle car | Easy low-speed corrections |
| Street Art search | Stable braking | A-class road car | Stops cleanly beside walls |
| Billboard jumps | Controlled launch and landing | Rally or off-road-leaning car | Handles uneven surfaces |
| Police escape scouting | Acceleration with predictable drift | Balanced A- or S-class car | Can change direction without spinning |
Finally, remember that Unbound separates day and night for a reason. Daytime is for methodical collection: markers are readable, traffic is manageable, and you are not forced to gamble your cash. Nighttime is for money, reputation, and high-heat drama. Treating the two sessions differently turns Lakeshore from a chaotic map into a route you can actually master.
The best secrets are not locked behind a mysterious code. They are hidden by speed. Slow down at Kennedy Test Track, inspect every mural from both directions, search district by district for Bear Champs, and use the BMW M3 GTR and Rocky’s 190E as reminders to look at the car culture built into the world. Once you stop taking the main road everywhere, Lakeshore City starts revealing itself.