In Shift 2: Unleashed, players’ hands sweat and ache as they clutch onto the controller, their pulse races from the break-neck speeds experienced through the first-person cockpit view. Shift 2 Unleashed pushes the envelope with the most authentic and intense racing experience in the genre. The world debut trailer of Shift 2 Unleashed was revealed today as bonus content for the action racing Need for Speed title, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit.

Shift 2: Unleashed also delivers the rush of an authentic driver's battle with exclusive access to 40 career events. Launching in Spring 2011, Shift 2: Unleashed is the perfect simulation complement to the action racer Need for Speed Hot Pursuit which introduced a simple yet brilliant rivalry-generating technology called Autolog. This groundbreaking network had been carried over to Shift 2: Unleashed, connecting friends in head-to-head races and comparing player stats for the ultimate social racing competition.

The digital expansion offers players a whole new career path with new game modes, cars and tracks inspired by the expansive network of automotive photographers, journalists and drivers at Speedhunters.com. With 1.7 million visits and nearly 6 million page views per month, Speedhunters, which is owned by EA, is recognized by automotive enthusiasts as one of the world’s leading car culture sites.

The SHIFT 2 Unleashed Speedhunters content pack contains two new branches including Drag and Standing mile. Each branch features nine new events, where players will only be able to use the manual gear change so that they can really feel what it’s like to be in the driver’s seat. This means the traction control features will be forced off and the HUD will display a new rev counter and gear indicator. The difference between the two modes is simple – Drag judges the fastest time over a quarter mile stretch, and Standing Mile judges the fastest speed achieved over a mile stretch. Both branches allows for new high-power customization options where players can create 1000 horsepower engines capable of reaching speeds of over 250 mph.

To top it off, the Speedhunters content pack features two new cars – Chris Rado’s World Racing Pro-FWD Reaper Scion tC and Koz’s Dodge Viper GTS by Twins Turbo as well as 12 specially tuned Speedhunters vehicles available to compete in all disciplines.

Full list of cars and tracks in the Speedhunters pack:

Players can purchase the Shift 2 Unleashed Speedhunters content pack for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live or $9.99 on the PlayStation Network.

The 40 events include Single-Type race events where a driver's skill is pushed to the limits as each player competes in the same make of car; Old vs. New Challenge events in which classic cars go head-to-head against their modern counterparts; and Manufacturer Showdown events that pits some of the most iconic car rivalries against each other in an all-out-battle to prove which car is the best. Shift 2 Unleashed takes the revolutionary true driver's experience of the Shift franchise and ups the ante with an all-new rendering engine and graphics overhaul, innovative helmet camera, night racing, and authentic degradation of tracks and cars.

Shift 2 Unleashed features an all-new rendering engine with a massive graphics overhaul that puts the player in the heart of the racing action. With an  innovative helmet camera view simulating the physical experience of driving at 200mph, the thrilling experience of night racing and authentic degradation of tracks and cars, thisis tomorrow’s sim for today’s adrenaline fueled racer. Shift 2 Unleashed also incorporates the next generation of Need for Speed Autolog – the groundbreaking network that connects friends for epic head-to-head races and compares player stats for the ultimate social racing competition.