IIWII Is the World's First Production Drift Car and It Is What It Is

Between 2009 and circa 2017, drifting has been a major part of my life. I worked with top-level athletes, organizers, and media outlets and traveled the world to play my role in supporting the phenomenon. It was beautiful but exhausting, and I felt it was time to settle down and start a family. Having done that, the desire to return kept increasing, and last year, I was lucky enough to attend the Nurburgring Drift Cup thanks to my friend, Tobias Welti, from Speed Industries.

It Is What It Is (IIWII)

A few months ago, I made it a point to actively seek to become more involved with the scene again. And I was unknowingly one phone call away from getting that wish. One thing led to another, and I helped 20-year-old Luca Purdea book a course at MyWay Drift School in Hungary. That's the same school I graduated from a decade ago. Its founder is Adam Frank, a pro drifter I had met circa 2011 while competing at an International Drift Event.

I've interviewed him for another story recently, and I can tell you that we quickly became friends, given our passion for this sport and cars in general. I have seen him evolve from a V8-powered BMW E30 to a 2JZ-powered E46 with 1,000 hp on tap (we called it the Beast). Given his role as a drift school instructor, he is easily one of the most experienced figures in the global scene I have ever met. Upon discussing Luca's future in the sport, Adam confessed something that almost had me fall out of my chair.

"I have a very cool project to share; we designed the best platform for drifting. It's still confidential, but we will unveil it soon." I saw the first photos and videos in January 2024 and could barely sleep thinking about the whole thing. Adam told me I could experience the IIWII (It Is What It Is), and I was excitedly shivering. But I'll give you the details of how my test drive went in an upcoming story. For now, let's just focus on the car.

I've seen it in action for four days and tested it for almost 30 laps of the 40,000 sqm compound on the Tokol airport close to Budapest. I spent a few hours talking to Adam about the project, and the scale of it is pretty impressive. I used to dream of building a car from scratch, but he didn't settle for just thinking about it. Naturally, my first question aimed to discover when and how he came up with the idea of building this machine:

We wanted to eliminate the downsides and increase the fun factor

"We came up with this idea because we wanted to develop a formidable platform for our students and guests. I wanted to allow them to compete in tandem battles and experience what driving a pro-spec drift car feels like. It was a vision for a much more exciting, better, and more cost-effective solution, all at once. That's how the idea came to be. As far as I know, we wanted an arrive-and-drive program, which didn't exist in the drift scene."

I still remember the day he unveiled the Beast. It happened in Greinbach, Austria, at the PS Racing Center. The world stood still momentarily as he started accelerating towards the first corner. It was as if he was driving a UFO; that's how formidable it all looked and sounded like. Of course, driving such a monster was not easy. "The drifting world has evolved to a place where drivers are constantly looking for more grip and power."

"But getting there means these machines are hard to handle, unreliable, and expensive. Due to this situation, there's an enormous amount of pressure on the driver, and that's not helpful for his mindset. So, you can see why I wanted to develop the IIWII to eliminate the downsides and increase the fun factor." While talking to Adam about the car, I could see the fire was still burning as intensely in his soul as it had 15 years ago.

His passion for the sport fueled his ambition of creating something unique, and I recognized in him something I had seen in other people before (think Mate Rimac, Horacio Pagani, and Brian Crighton). Our conversation was a mix of talking and him showing me an immense archive of photos and videos from the early phases of the project. And I became curious about when the vision came to his mind first. "I think it happened circa 2014 while driving towards an International Drift event."

He knew I was crazy about my ideas

"I was alone in the car, with just myself company for thousands of kilometers. I like driving without music in the background to process my thoughts. Then it hit me as I said: It would be cool if we built the perfect car for drifting." Of course, a project like this doesn't happen overnight, and you can already tell it has been in the works for a decade. It took Adam several months to share the vision with his Chief Mechanic, Zsolt Szabo.

"I brought the idea to words, and my Zsolt didn't understand what my goal was at first. He knew I was crazy about my ideas and always respected them. We started brainstorming and didn't expect it to evolve to such a huge level. The first big move happened in November 2015, when we put all the components on the welding table: wheels, engine, gearbox, differential, and bucket seats. It looked like a mix of Lego, Puzzle, and Sudoku."

"We knew it would have to be a tubular chassis, with all the parts inside the four wheels and a front-mid engine for a good center of balance. We aimed for a 55-45 weight distribution with the car standing still at 50-50 when you're on the throttle. We wanted the driver to sit close to the rear axle as far back as possible. You get more information, the transitions are more exciting, and you have a better view of what's happening in front of you."

I had already driven the IIWII when I had this conversation with Adam, and it was a real eye-opener. It was like understanding a foreign language suddenly, after already appreciating how it sounds and twists off the tongue. Given all the information I've gathered, the IIWII deserves a feature film. There's only so much information I can relay through writing, but luckily, there's a short video below to help you understand.

I love the freedom you feel driving it

The IIWII is the world's first production-level drift car, so it's no surprise it had to go through several phases to reach this point. " We had three chassis versions and six versions of the rear axle. That was the most difficult part of developing to the level we wanted. We had four suspension layouts, experimenting with the type of coilovers and alignment. The fifth generation was the final design." Any new car must go through the real world to prove it can handle the job it was built for.

Luckily, Adam is an experienced pro drifter surrounded by people with similar skills to provide more feedback. "The first drive happened in August 2017, and it was not what we hoped for; no grip in the front, no grip in the back, everything was wrong. We went back to the shop and started making adjustments. People who have driven the car already know how amazing it feels when pushed to the limit."

Currently, the IIWII uses a BMW-sourced 4.0-liter V8 with almost 300 horsepower on tap. However, the chassis can handle any 90-degree V8 power unit, including some popular Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet products. Adam's background in industrial design sure came in handy for this project, while Zsolt Szabo brought engineering and mechanical expertise. The body panels are the work of David Williams, aka Wizzoo7, an Australian Automotive designer.

I will save some more juicy details for the next story, but here's one more exciting fact about the IIWII you need to know: it only weighs 780 kg and has the same wheelbase as a modern-day Shelby GT350 (2,720 mm). I'll stop here for now, quoting Adam on what he enjoys most about the revolutionary It Is What It Is drift project:

"The freedom. The freedom you feel driving it. It gives you the confidence to push harder each lap; it's reliable, and you feel safe and connected to it. And then, there's the fresh air; it's almost like riding a motorcycle or a scooter, not something you'll get inside a pro drift car."