We don’t think much about the Altima, and based on the sales figures of the value-oriented sedan, not even Nissan cares too much about it. Be that as it may, someone has built a drift car that looks like an Altima.
Three-time Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg owns the no-nonsense drift car in the following video, which can be wound up to 2,000 horsepower thanks to a VR38DETT twin-turbo V6 engine yanked out of a GT-R. For this drag race, however, the force-fed mill develops 1,300-ish horsepower.
The secret to these ludicrous numbers comes in the guise of Garrett G30 turbos and plenty of additional cooling over a GT-R or an Altima. Constructed on a bespoke tubular frame, this fellow relies on a six-speed sequential for blistering-quick upshifts. Even though straight lines aren’t its forte, the one-of-one drift car promises to slay pretty much everything, thanks to sticky tires and a curb weight of approximately 3,170 pounds (1,438 kilograms).
On the other lane of the runway, the boys at Hoonigan brought a 2015 model year Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with a modified eight-speed automatic transmission and 1,050 horsepower on tap from a V8 engine. It’s the same 6.2-liter Hellcat as the bone-stock specification, but forced induction now happens with the help of boosty snails instead of a twin-screw blower.
Clearly not your average Hellcat, the four-door land missile has been upgraded with forged pistons, connecting rods, as well as a forged crankshaft for good measure. Currently pushing 23 pounds per square inch of boost, the four-door Mopar machine can be easily upgraded to run at 30 psi.
The question is, can the twin-turbo Hellcat keep up with the twin-turbo Altima lookalike over the course of 1,000 feet? The answer to that is no, partially because the muscled-up Charger weighs 4,600 pounds (2,087 kilograms). Second time out on the track, the bi-tone Dodge gets a one-car advantage off the line but still doesn’t have the traction to win the drag race.
As for the final showdown, rolling from 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) over 1,000 feet results in a tighter finish than expected because the narrow-body Hellcat claws into the tarmac much better than before. To find out which car won this race, skip the following clip to the 13:11 mark.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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