12 Cars you wouldn't expect to Drift

1JZ POWERED VW CADDY

RB26DETT FORD TRANSIT

According to the story, Skudo Auto Club needed a new workhorse vehicle to carry parts to and from their shop. They had recently just crashed their previous Ford Transit van and acquired a much newer one to replace it. As far as utility is concerned, the Ford Transit van is an absolute ace. But when it came down to driving enjoyment, the stock engine didn’t do much justice.

The old motor from the Ford Transit was yanked out and an RB26DETT from an R33 Nissan GT-R was swapped in. Typically power specs pegged these run-of-the-mill delivery vehicles at around 130 HP and 215 lb-ft but with this swap, power is raised to around 320 HP and 315 lb-ft.

Add on R35 wheels, a ceramic clutch, straight pipe exhaust out the side, and a column-mounted hydraulic brake and you have a workhorse turned into full-on tire slayer drift machine.

Originally when the project started “workers laughed and shook their heads.” Now, “Everyone likes it. Sometimes it’s even impossible to gain access to the Transit as people are gathered around it watching and staring.”

V10 RWD SUBARU IMPREZA

We always love crazy conversions and wacky ideas here at PD, and this Subaru Impreza WRX V10 BMW M5-powered creation is a fine example. Yes, a 5.0-litre V10 rear-wheel drive Subaru Impreza WRX. A debut drifting video of it was recently posted up on YouTube. It’s doesn’t take a second guess to recognise that howling, almost symbolic BMW M sound, especially high up in the rev range when it becomes a full-on singing V10. With smoke pouring from the rear treads and opposite lock at its maximum, things don’t get much better.

According to the owner, the V10 Subaru Impreza wasn’t running properly or providing full power during the track drive below, and that this was one of the V10 Impreza’s first outings. It looks pretty sweet to us.

As the images below outline, this kind of conversion isn’t a matter of pulling out the old EJ20 and plonking in the BMW M5 V10. There’s extensive firewall, engine mount and rear differential housing fabrication work that was needed for the swap.

ELECTRIC RWD TOYOTA PRIUS

Given the lack of engine noise and the fact that it’s rear-wheel drive, we’re assuming this Toyota runs some sort of EV conversion on the rear axle - or is merely a Prius body on top of a new chassis - and is used as a promotional vehicle. Not a bad way to spread the word…A D1GP drift exhibition was held at Tokyo Auto Salon 2015 to kick off the new season. One special car there was OZ Motors Vertex Prius. This is a ZVW30 Prius model that has been converted to all electric and rear wheel drive. OZ Motors in Japan specializes in selling electric motors and converting vehicles to run on electricity. The car utilizes two electric motors capable of producing 394 hp (400 ps) and 590 ft-lbs (800 Nm) of torque. Pretty good power for a car that weighs 2,645 lbs (1,200 kg). The car’s battery pack consists of LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) batteries with 46 kWh output. They have a Facebook post looking for support and sponsorship to get into D1GP. It would be great to see this competing against the other cars.

SR20DET RWD HONDA CIVIC

This is something every Honda guy dreams about – a Civic converted to RWD! This one is not “only” a RWD EK9 Civic, the engine is swapped with the Nissan’s SR20DET (from 180SX) and of course there’s a big boosted turbo. It’s still work in progress car, but the owner seems very happy with the results so far.

V8 RWD FORD FOCUS

first-generation Focus drifting its way through a mid-sized parking lot - the hefty brakes are also a clue that this isn’t your usual compact. Judging by what we can see in the footage, the Focus doesn’t make for the most driftable platform, but, with the right amount of practice, the sideways fun appears to be guarantee - as most of you know, a short wheelbase is the enemy of the slip angle.

The technical details

As it turns out, there’s a company that specializes in gifting your old Focus with a V8 and sensing its power to the rear wheels. The crew is called Kugel Street Rod Components and they offer two versions, one with a 4.6-liter engine and one powered by a 5.0-liter unit, both Ford V8 crate units.

Opting for the 4.6 V8 will mean you’ll have to pay over $10,000 for the full conversion package, while the five-liter V8 will see you adding about $2,000 to that. You can check out the PDF file below for the exact prices.
Nevertheless, you’ll also need to upgrade the brakes, as well as the wheel and tire package, which are not included on the aforementioned list.

Before we end this story, we have to warn you that this is the kind of investment that you’re not too likely to recover. For instance, such a Focus V8 RWD showed up on eBay back in 2013, as well as in 2014, but it didn’t seem to enjoy too much success.

V8 RWD VW GOLF

The yellow and black VW should need no introduction to Swedish readers, or Gatebil regulars. Originally built (and completed in 2011) by Peter Steinwandt of PSW Engineering and driver Daniel Björk, over the past couple of years the mutant drift Golf has decimated tyres and competition, culminating in a convincing win of 2012’s NEZ (North European Zone ) Drift Championship. Its secret? A rear-wheel drive conversion and a hard-tuned Chevy LS1 engine swap. With 450hp and a relentless wall of torque ready to be unleashed with the slightest right-foot provocation, the Golf was certainly not short on grunt but as so many Gatebil builds have shown us, sensible car-building logic seems to rarely prevail in this region. The dry-sumped LS1 base remains in the same way it was when Peter campaigned the car last season. It’s a serious package too, featuring Wiseco forged pistons, Lunati forged rods and a forged stroker crankshaft that pushes cubic capacity out from 345ci to 383ci, or 5.7L to 6.2L for the metrically inclined.

Legendary Diesel Mercedes W123 + SCANIA turbine

Say hello to Black Smoke, the world’s most epic drift car. Based on a 1981 W123 Mercedes wagon (already cool in its own right) this diesel-powered drifting monster churns out up to 700bhp and 664lb/ft of torque. Under the bonnet lies a 3.0-litre straight six oil-burner from a 1998 car which, as you can imagine, has had some work done to it. On top of the massive turbocharger - which runs up to 3.5 bar boost - this engine is also fitted with a supercharger that feeds the turbocharger. That means zero lag and maximum boost from the get-go. Anything missing? Ah yes, it’s got a nitrous kit installed too…The standard auto gearbox has also been binned in favour of the beefy unit you get in an E55 AMG and the radiator has now been relocated to the wagon’s massive boot.

Audi Coupe turbo with Mid Engine

One of the more interesting builds in the series is Henri Puhmas’ Audi Quattro. A 650hp Stroker LS3, Feal suspension and around 1000kg’s with a 52/48 weight distribution makes this something really unique.

The 2JZ Engine BMW 2002

Engine: 2JZ-GTE custom swap, Holset HX40 Super turbo, Brian Cower stage 2 camshafts, Brian Cower valve springs, Electric water pump, Custom intake manifold, Zerial Modified custom exhaust manifold, Zerial Modified custom intercooler, Zerial Modified aluminum intake piping, Custom exhaust 3.5″, 1400cc injectors, Custom fuel rail, Vems engine management, Cometic headgasket, ARP head studs, ATL fuel cell, Surge tank, 4 x MSD fuel pumps

Gearbox: Gearbox R154, Marlin Crawler gearbox package, ACT clutch, ACT pressure plate, M5 diff

Suspension & Brakes: MX5 Tein Flex rear coilovers, Bilstein front coilovers, E30 rear suspension, E36 front suspension, Wisefab, BMW Brembo 4-pot front calipers, Porsche 4-pot rear calipers

Exterior & Wheels: Custom GTR Bodykit, FRP bonnet, FRP front fenders, Lexan rear window, 4pc 8Jx17″ Dotz wheels.

Interior: Full custom rollcage, Sabelt bucket seats, Sabelt harnesses, OMP steering wheel, custom alcantara-clad original dashboard, Auto Gauge gauges, Hydraulic handbrake, Tilton pedal box

DAIGO SAITO's Lamborghini Murcielago

Engine:
Lamborghini 6.2L V12, 4x Nissan VR38DETT-spec electronically-controlled throttle bodies, Kakimoto Racing custom straight exhaust system with twin center exits, 4x HKS Super Power Flow filters, 2x HKS F-CON V Pro Ver 4.0 engine management systems, 2x Bosch high-flow fuel pumps, front-mounted ATL safety fuel cell

Driveline:
Factory 6-speed manual transmssion, upgraded clutch, custom gear shifter
Suspension/Brakes:
Modified Toyota Celsius steering rack, Toyota Supra steering knuckles, Ikeya Formula one-off lower front arms, Ikeya Formula one-off upper front arms, pillow-ball joints throughout, adjustable front coil-overs, Ikeya Formula one-off rear upper and lower arms, 2x side adjustable rear coil-overs, CSD 6-pot front/rear brake calipers, CSD 2-piece slotted rotors front/rear

Wheels/Tyres:
Prodrive GC-05K forged monoblock wheels, Achilles Radial ATR Sport tyres

Exterior:
Liberty Walk full aero kit, custom-vented bonnet, rear wing, polycarbonate windows, Craft Square carbon fibre mirrors, carbon fibre doors

Interior:
Custom-fabricated multi-point rollcage, carbon fiber transmission tunnel, custom switch panel, Bride Proface drivers seat, Bride Zeta III passenger seat, Prodrive/Willans harness belts, Prodrive 345mm steering wheel, Tilton adjustable pedal box, HKS AFK meter, Racepak IQ3 dash display, hydraulic side brake lever

'Murica, Ford Mustang RTR-X

Ford Mustang is a great option for those who take pride in US automobile industry and prefers American muscle to Japanese light cars. At the same time, it is one of the few drift-compatible cars that is easy to find and can be purchased new as long as most Japanese drifting machines were discontinued over a decade ago. However, Mustangs are quite bulky and require a serious diet tuning to match the Japanese rivals. It is not the cheapest vehicle either, so they are more popular with professional racers rather than amateurs. Yet, you don’t find many V8-powered drifting cars, so it definitely has enormous appeal.

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