Professional drifting has come a long way since the start of the 21st century. 10 years ago, I took pride in knowing 90% or more of all pro drivers on the planet, but today I always come across someone I had never heard of before. With Formula Drift and D1GP cars hitting 1,000 or more horsepower, even drivers in feeder series still go up to at least 60% or 70% of those figures.
A few years ago, some top-spec drift cars had gone through the quarter-mile (402 meters) test and managed to get 11-second passes while struggling to go straight. So even though they're not designed to be driven that way, they are quite fast by any standard. And today, we're about to see two middle-spec drift machines going head to head down the Hoonigan drag strip at the Santa Margarita Ranch. The video was just published about an hour ago, and we were excited to see who would come out on top.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a 2010 model, and it used to run in Formula Drift back in the day. With a 7.0-liter LS engine under the hood, the driver should have access to about 600 horsepower. This vehicle is running the classic drift car setup with a G-Force GSR four-speed gearbox and a Winters Quick Change Differential, and it only weighs 2,640 lbs (1,197 kg). Its opponent for today is slightly heavier at 3,080 lbs (1,397 kg). But what once used to be a Nissan 240SX is now powered by a boosted 6.7-liter LQ9 V8 that puts out about 720 horsepower (730 ps).
In a rather strange twist of events, they aren't going for a rolling race format. So there is bound to be plenty of wheelspin going off the line. By the time they cross the 1,000 ft (304 meters) finish line, it will be strange for them to keep going straight instead of initiating as they would normally do. If you've never seen two drift cars launching from a dig, you'll probably be impressed by how fast they can get up to speed. And even though the rear tires of the Nissan are going through hell and back, this car still wins the first run.
The gap isn't all that big, and the guys decide to switch things up a little to even the odds. They're neck-and-neck across the finish line, and you'll need to watch the replay several times to be able to tell who won. Either way, these cars are better off going sideways, as that's where all the excitement is at.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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