The Challenge Series in Need for Speed: Carbon has a set series of tiers following Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of difficulty. The player must beat the lower tier challenge in order to unlock higher tier challenges. Players can unlock special items by completing each Gold tier challenge.
| Challenge Series | ||||||
| Canyon Duel | Canyon Duel | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 4.5 Miles | Silver Tier | 2.5 Miles | Gold Tier | 3.1 Miles | |
| Switchblade Spoiler | Journeyman's Bane | Gold Valley Duel | Eternity Pass | |||
| Lexus IS300 | Plymouth Road Runner | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | ||||
| Canyon Race | Canyon Race | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 3.4 Miles | Silver Tier | 2.6 Miles | Gold Tier | 3.4 Miles | |
| NFS Carbon Logo Vinyls |
Gold Valley | Copper Ridge | Deadfall Junction | |||
| Mazda RX-8 | Mitsubishi Eclipse GT | Nissan 350Z | ||||
| Checkpoint | Checkpoint | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 5.6 Miles | Silver Tier | 5.3 Miles | Gold Tier | 5.8 Miles | |
| Venom Spoiler | Eskuri Plaza | Rabinowitz Drive | Blackwell Road | |||
| Renault Clio V6 | Plymouth Hemi Cuda | Porsche 911 GT3 RS | ||||
| Canyon Checkpoint | Canyon Checkpoint | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 3.3 Miles | Silver Tier | 5.3 Miles | Gold Tier | 3.4 Miles | |
| Pearlescent Paint | Lofty Heights | Knife's Edge | Desperation Ridge | |||
| Chevrolet Camaro SS | Mazda RX-7 | BMW M3 GTR | ||||
| Canyon Drift | Canyon Drift | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 3.1 Miles | Silver Tier | 2.4 Miles | Gold Tier | 2.3 Miles | |
| Sidewinder Spoiler | Gold Valley Drift | Knife's Edge Drift | Lookout Point Drift | |||
| Aston Martin DB9 | Toyota MR2 | Lamborghini Murciélago LP-640 | ||||
| Pursuit Evasion | Pursuit Evasion | |||||
| Bronze Tier | Evade after 2 minutes |
Silver Tier | Evade after 5 minutes |
Gold Tier | Evade after 12 minutes | |
| Overdial & Shaker Hoods |
Starlight Strip Escape | Beachfront Dodge | Route 55 Getaway | |||
| Mazda Mazdaspeed3 | Dump Truck | Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 | ||||
| Trade Paint | Trade Paint | |||||
| Bronze Tier | Disable at least 5 police vehicles |
Silver Tier | Disable at least 10 police vehicles |
Gold Tier | Disable at least 30 police vehicles | |
| Pearl Window Tint | Hills Borough Hijinks | Wyle Canter Crackdown | Brimstone A.P.B. | |||
| Dodge Charger SRT8 | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | Chevrolet Chevelle SS | ||||
| Circuit | Circuit | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 7.0 Miles | Silver Tier | 7.0 Miles | Gold Tier | 6.5 Miles | |
| Impact Spoiler | Dover Street | Oceanview | Starlight Street | |||
| Alfa Romeo Brera | Lamborghini Gallardo | Shelby GT500 | ||||
| Sprint | Sprint | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 3.8 Miles | Silver Tier | 5.0 Miles | Gold Tier | 3.3 Miles | |
| Honey Vinyl | Condo Row | Kings Park | Canmor Road | |||
| Dodge Charger R/T | Porsche Cayman S | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | ||||
| Drift | Drift | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 2.7 Miles | Silver Tier | 2.8 Miles | Gold Tier | 4.3 Miles | |
| Tornado Spoiler | Chinatown Drift | Park Drive Drift | Main Street Drift | |||
| Lotus Europa S | Toyota Supra | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | ||||
| Speed Trap | Speed Trap | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 4.6 Miles | Silver Tier | 3.5 Miles | Gold Tier | 3.7 Miles | |
| Groundmaster Spoiler | Million Dollar Run | Infinity Park | Eskuri Way | |||
| Chrysler 300C Hemi SRT-8 | Ford Mustang GT | Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren | ||||
| Race Wars | Race Wars | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 7.7 Miles | Silver Tier | 14.7 Miles | Gold Tier | 9.5 Miles | |
| Race Flag Vinyls | Downtown | Fortuna | Silverton | |||
| 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse | Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG | Dodge Challenger Concept | ||||
Collector's Edition Challenges
The Collector's Edition of Need for Speed: Carbon includes three additional challenge with each having 3 tiers.
| Collector's Edition Challenges | ||||||
| Checkpoint | Checkpoint | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 4.6 Miles | Silver Tier | 6.4 Miles | Gold Tier | 21 Miles | |
| 1992 Nissan 240SX | Highway 142 | Downtown Tunnel | Around the World | |||
| Dodge Challenger Concept | Lamborghini Murciélago | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | ||||
| Pursuit EvasionTrade Paint | Pursuit | |||||
| Bronze Tier | Disable at least 25 police vehicles |
Silver Tier | Evade after 7 minutes |
Gold Tier | Disable at least 1 Rhino Unit | |
| Camo & Pinstripe Vinyls |
Pursuit Pinball | Downtown Tunnel | Big Game Hunt | |||
| Shelby GT500 | Jaguar XK | Dodge Viper SRT-10 | ||||
| Race Wars | Race Wars (Circuit on PlayStation 2 release) | |||||
| Bronze Tier | 20.8 Miles | Silver Tier | 5.6 Miles | Gold Tier | 14.2 Miles | |
| 2007 Jaguar XK | Highway 142 | Garcia Street | Route 21 | |||
| Nissan 240SX | Chevrolet Camaro Concept | Koenigsegg CCX | ||||