Follow us on Twitter12 Japanese Cars We Dare You To Drift In
Drifting has become an art to a lot of drivers, and to master that art takes years of practice and the right car. So, with that said, which is the best car to drift in? Here’s our list of popular drift machines that will have you going sideways with the flick of your big toe.
Nissan 350Z
It will come as no surprise to know that the best drift cars tend to be Japanese. After all, the country did invent drifting, and the young Japanese drivers are continuing to master this skill like no other nation. So, why is the 350Z a good drift car? Well, its rear-wheel drive, 3.5-litre V6 powertrain and lovely handling characteristics help the driver to create a pleasing drift. With a few modifications the 350Z can become a true drifter. It isn’t cheap though, even a used Nissan is going to make a dent in your bank account but if you’ve got the money, you can’t go wrong.
Nissan Skyline
Another Nissan, but this time it is the legendary Skyline. Few cars reach such a cult status that whenever someone under 30-years-old sees one they instantly stop what they are doing. The Skyline is one of the original drifters that has seen modifications left, right and centre to accommodate insane turbos, limited slip differentials and nitrous. Four-wheel-steer and four-wheel-drive allows the Skyline to have tremendous grip and agility – just watch out for those insurance premiums.
Nissan Silvia
OK, so drifters like Nissans – what can we say? The Silvia, however, is very special. Its status as one of the finest drifting machines you can buy comes from years of Japanese teens buying them and doing them up until they drift even in a straight line. It has been praised for having one of the best drifting chassis you can buy, and even better, the Silvia is dirt cheap to buy standard.
Toyota Supra
Immortalised by the original Need For Speed: Underground PlayStation game in the early 2000s, the Supra became a cult hit thanks to its good looks, twin-turbo engine and ability to drift. Rear-wheel drive is a must on most drift cars, and the Supra uses its set-up perfectly. If performance whilst drifting is what you’re after, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Supra.
Mazda RX-7
When Mazda launched the RX-7 most people laughed. They decided to price it up against Porsches and BMWs, which for a company who hadn’t secured respect in the industry, was a bold move. So, the RX-7 is expensive, but if you can afford it, it will be a handy tool for drifting – if a little tricky.
The rotary wankel engine is notorious for drinking oil, and with its performance only available in the higher rev range, it can be a bugger to control. Still, if you do master it, you can basically master anything.
Nissan 200SX
If you love to drift but worried about money then you should look at the Nissan 200SX. A popular choice for drifters on a budget, the 200SX will provide you with all the fun in the more powerful drift cars with half the financial implications.
It may not look spectacular, but it is a cheap way of entering the drifting community.
Nissan Silvia S15
If you want respect on the streets and on the track we suggest buying a Silvia S15. It is the Silvia’s hottest variant and is one of the best drift cars on the planet. Not only does it look good, but with a powerful power plant and a great chassis, the S15 is the ultimate package for any drifting enthusiast.
Toyota Corolla AE86
What is a Toyota Corolla doing on our list? After all, it’s one of the worst looking cars ever, it’s a family run-around and it’s about as desirable as ice-cream made by Idi Arim. While all of these stigmas may be true, the AE86 does have its good points. Firstly, it’s the most popular drifting tool ever and has been praised for ‘teaching you how to drift’ by many veteran drifters.
So, if it’s simplicity you are after; we give you the Corolla AE86 – cheap, ugly but it will teach you the basics.
Honda S2000
Little did Honda know that the S2000 sports car would become a drifters’ favourite, but after a decade in production, the S2000 became a cult hit – and it’s not hard to see why. A buzzy 2.0-litre VTEC engine provided the high-rpm power, while a fantastic rear-wheel drive set-up helped the S2000 slide round corners like a dog chasing a cat.
Toyota Chaser
If discretion is what you’re after, look elsewhere. The Toyota Chaser is as purposeful as it is good at drifting. Once used for Japanese touring car racing, the Chaser has a racing pedigree that makes it one of the best ways of going round a corner sideways. Easy to tune and modify, the Chaser is a relatively cheap way of burning a lot of rubber.
Not too many people own them, so if you fancy a good drift car with exclusivity, this is the one for you.
Mitsubishi Evo
Made famous by the Fast and the Furious film franchise, the Mitsubishi Evo is an icon throughout the world. A ridiculous 2.0-litre engine with a turbo the size of Stockholm, the Evo makes light work of most ‘fast’ cars.
When modified, the Evo can become one of the finest drift machines you can buy. They aren’t cheap, but they are respected and well built. So, it’s swings and roundabouts, really.
Lexus IS
Power sliding in a Lexus, surely not? Despite the company’s ‘old man’ stereotype, the IS is a properly popular drift car in Japan. The luxurious nature of the IS appeals to drivers who like a few mod-cons whilst they drift down a mountain. You can’t blame them; we’d love to have the air-con on whilst breaking every law in the land. It’s the only way to do it.
Wow, some incredible drift machines. What I would give to get my hands on a Nissan 350z or the Evo and be able to drift like these!
oh man. I’m not a drifting expert (by far), but I LOVE watching it. Here’s a few things to point out.
1) the 350Z makes a great drift car mainly because of the VQ35DE under the hood. Lots of torque. The suspension isn’t much special. An Infiniti G35 Coupe (also known as a Skyline 350GT elsewhere) is the same thing but with a longer wheelbase and some “back seats” – the longer wheelbase makes it more stable, and it’s still got the same monster engine.
2) The AE86 (hachi-roku) and S2000 both have a few problems. the AE86 has NO TORQUE and the rear suspension gives you the choice of either a) proper geometry but high ride height and lots of roll or, B) the opposite. Live axles suck. The 4A-GE (1.6L 16v also used in the AE111 GT-S and the AW11 MR2) is a great track motor – LOVES revs, sounds great, but doesn’t have the grunt to kick an AE86 sideways. Lotta people run black-top (5v 4A’s) or 4A-GZE’s (supercharged 4v 4A) to get enough power. It’s actually painful watching someone try to drift a stock-motor AE86. They’re well balanced but you need TORQUE
The S2000 is a terrible drift car with the stock drivetrain. The F20C in the AP1 makes no power low-down, the rear diffs are fragile, the clutches are fragile, blah blah. There’s a shop in Florida that will happily drop a MkIV Supra 2JZ-GTE in one for you!
3) Skylines – you know, GT-R’s make terrible drift cars, what with having active AWD that prevents wheelspin. But the 2.5L GTS-T makes a great one. Then again, the RB25DET from the R34 GTS-T will fit happily in Silvia/200SX/240SX/180SX S13 thru S15, and it’s a lot lighter, and shorter wheelbase. Which is why everyone drifts S-chassis.
4) RX-7: not with a rotary! That generation of RX7 had good power (between 237-286bhp from the twin-sequential turbo rotary depending on year, model, and market), decent torque, and it was nicely balanced – but turbo rotarys are well known for going pop on the track. Inadequate radiator dimensions, fragile apex seals, failure-prone “flapper gate” between the small and big turbo, they’re a nightmare. There’s a cure for this: a Chevy LS1 V8 from a 1998-2004 Corvette, Camaro, etc. A fully dressed LS1 is actually lighter than the 13b-REW (the twin turbo rotary) and makes more power, WAY more reliably. A whole grassroots industry has sprung up around dropping chevy V8′s into old Mazda rotaries, and they’re always better off for it.
5) Evo – again, 4WD makes for a bad drift car. Some teams get around this by doing costly, unreliable, complicated RWD conversions – but most just get a RWD car to begin with.
6) Lexus IS/ Toyota Altezza – first gen IS300/Altezza’s use the same motor as MkIV Supra’s. They make awesome drift cars. Same thing with the Chaser/MkX/etc.
a few things missing here.
1) Pontiac GTO (5.7L 03-04, 6.0L 05-06 is preferrable.) Yes it’s heavy, but it’s got at LEAST 350lb-ft of torque under the hood (the 5.7L LS1 was 350bhp/350tq, the 6.0L LS2 in later models was an even 400/400.) It also has fully independent rear suspension which allows better control, a stout Tremec T56 6-speed manual which doesn’t break all the time, and there is no limit to how much power you can make with these cars. For england, see: Vauxhall Monaro VXR. For Aussieland, see: Holden Monaro.
Ford Sierra: light, IRS, fit any engine into it, semi-trailing arms in the rear are drift-tastic. Preferrably with a highly boosted 2.0L Cosworth I4, or a fuel injected 302ci Windsor V8 with a good cam.
Vaughn Gittin Jr has had great success with his Mustang drift cars (despite the ox-cart rear suspension, Mustangs are well-balanced drift cars) and Sam Hubinette managed to keep his factory-backed Viper SRT-10 (later ACR) sideways like a champ.
uggggh drifting,so fun.
-James
Awesome site Drift is so wonderful