Smokey Drift-Spec Supercars That’ll Upset The Purists

For some, supercars are beautiful, handcrafted pieces of art which should be treated like fine pieces of china, only to be taken out on special occasions. For others, supercars are machines that are designed to be thrashed to within an inch of their life. Here are a selection of machines which fall squarely under the latter category.

Yep, you read that right, an LFA drift car. Yoichi Imamura had this one-off creation commissioned for various D1 GP demonstrations. In place of the high-revving V10 is a more powerful and reliable TRD NASCAR motor, which sounds especially sacrilegious, but there are rumours that this particular LFA’s original engine was wrecked by floodwater. And in any case, it’s hard not to be impressed watching the world’s most expensive drift car being hooned around like it’s an S15 missile.

Rear-wheel drive, a engine in the front and affordability are usually the key credentials for a successful drift machine. Daigo Saito obviously didn’t get the memo.

Just like Imamura’s LFA, this build will make some supercar purists cry out in horror. But on closer inspection, the level of craftsmanship that has gone into this car is astounding. Everything is custom, from the Ikeya drift steering arms to the ‘Daigo holes’ in the Perspex windows. Daigo hasn’t finished the development of his car yet so expect to see more of this machine in the coming years.

If there is one car that seems totally inappropriate for professional drifting it would be the Porsche 911. Thanks to the likes of Chris Harris we know the German machines can hold some serious angle, but in the super competitive world of Formula D all that weight hanging out over the back seems like a distinct disadvantage.

No matter; that didn’t put off Jon Kaneda from JIC Magic, who converted his 1996 993 RS into a full-blown GT2-spec drift machine. By the end of the 2008 Formula D season the car had certainly proved the doubters wrong by winning legions of fans and securing a podium position at the New Jersey round.

The whereabouts of this car are now unknown but it was last reported for sale back in 2011.

Once again Alexi from the website Noriyaro helps to demonstrate the diversity in the Japanese drifting scene. A mid-engined Ferrari is not what you would typically expect for a personal drift car. With a paddle-shift gearbox, pendulum drifts are the order of the day. Surprisingly the Italian supercar looks very at home on the lock stops.

CT CEO Adnan was lucky enough to get a ride in this car recently, so stay tuned for his full report!

One key characteristic for a good drift car is that it’s manageable at the limit. So why on earth did team Mopar choose one of the world’s most tricky supercars to contest the 2008 Formula D Championship?

For show, is probably the most honest answer, and to show off Samuel Hubinette’s other-worldly car control. An 825bhp Viper stepping out at 100mph plus is probably our idea of worst nightmare. For Hubinette it was simply his day job. Respect.

I know, I know, this is not specifically a supercar. But turning a luxury barge into a purpose-built drift car deserves some serious respect. This Bavarian beast has been spotted doing the rounds at various Drift Allstars events. Unfortunately the German V8 has been scrapped in favour of a more conventional twin-turbo GM LS3 setup. But I guess you can’t argue with 600bhp on low boost. To top it all off the Beemer has been treated to beautiful custom-made Liberty Walk kit. So much want.

So, what do you guys think? Would you like to see more supercars on the drifting scene? Let us know in the poll below!