There is no “Formula” for drift cars
Decades before many of its devoted fans were ever born, the sport of drifting was created up on the curvy and narrow mountain roads of Japan, where drivers like Keiichi Tsuchiya and anime and manga series Initial D turned deliberate acts of oversteer into a true art form. But like most of the country’s exports, drifting didn’t stay in Japan for long. Today, drifting from the grassroots to the professional motorsports level has a passionate global following, and especially in the United States, as Formula Drift fills grandstands from Long Beach to New Jersey with fans hungry for tire smoke and sideways action every summer.
What makes pro drifting thrilling and effortlessly cool isn’t just the crazy driving, it’s the equally crazy machines piloted by the pro drivers themselves. Although drift events in the States and in Japan are mostly populated by sporty, rear-wheel-drive cars such as the Nissan 240SX, Subaru BRZ, Toyota GR86, or even the Ford Mustang and BMW 1 and 3-series, there isn’t one “uniform” drift car. Unlike most other motorsports that are set to a strict ruleset or Formula, drifting isn’t held by such bounds, allowing teams and competitors to always push the boundaries of what a drift car can be.
Whether it be an old muscle car, an expensive supercar and somewhere in-between, the cool cars that compete in both the D1 Grand Prix in Japan and Formula Drift in the U.S. are sometimes surprising, occasionally bizarre, and always memorable. Here are five drift cars that didn’t just slide, they rewrote the definition of what a drift car could be.
Lamborghini Murcielago – Daigo Saito – D1 Grand Prix
Given that drifting is a sport where crashing into barriers or into competitors seems more like an inevitability than something to be avoided, it would seem smart to use a vehicle that is much more commonplace. It is for this reason as to why last season’s Formula Drift roster is awash with “attainable” rear-wheel-drive machines. However, the relatively loose nature of the pro drifting vehicle rulebook only proves that there are some vehicles that break away from the mold.
In 2015, Daigo Saito teamed up with Monster Energy and Liberty Walk to create a drift car that wasn’t like the Nissan Silvias and Toyota AE86s on the D1 Grand Prix grid; a Lamborghini Murcielago. Developed in collaboration with Liberty Walk Japan, the sideways Lambo went through a series of modifications to hit the drift circuit, including a full roll cage and custom suspension. In addition, it has been converted from all-wheel-drive to rear-wheel-drive, and fitted with a customized aerodynamic package including a huge rear wing and fender flares to shield its wider rubber.
Electric Chevrolet Camaro – Travis Reeder
In 2019, then-Formula Drift rookie Travis Reeder made a splash in FD with not only his debut in the upper tier of the series, but also as the pilot of the first electric vehicle to be used in the competition. Dubbed the EL1, Napoleon Motorsports took a Chevrolet Camaro that was hit by a freight train and engineered and developed a machine designed to shred tires from the group up.
With significant experience in the Trans Am series, Napoleon Motorsports constructed the EL1 car in under six months with the help of experts, including EV West, which provided controllers for the magnetless Tesla motors driving the rear tires. All in all, the batteries in the EL1 have a 38.4 kWh capacity and help the motors produce 515hp; relatively low, compared to the 1,000hp that other FD cars are able to make. However, its electric motors deliver 800 lb-ft of torque instantly from zero rpm, enabling Reeder to instantly turn the tires into smoke at an eye-watering 16,000 RPM.
But despite all the technological expertise, the car saw limited track time during the 2019 Formula Drift season. Reeder was unable to compete in the electric Camaro at the first event at the Long Beach street circuit due to a request from local fire officials, while tech trouble sidelined the vehicle the next round in Orlando, before being able to compete at Road Atlanta. Ultimately, Napoleon Motorsports pulled the EL1 Camaro from competition halfway through the season, leaving Reeder to finish his 2019 campaign in his gas-powered Nissan 240SX.
Honda Element – James Robinson
Although it may seem that the rules of Formula Drift are particularly lassie faire, there are some rules regarding what kind of vehicles can and can’t compete; it’s not like your friend with his LS-swapped drift truck can show up and compete. Unfortunately, the book specifically states that “no trucks or SUVs will be allowed” and that “CUVs and crossovers must petition for approval” from Formula Drift before they could head into competition.
However, there was a time when such vehicles actually did make it onto the FD circuit. In 2010, then-Honda engineer James Robinson competed in four rounds of Formula Drift in a specially modified Honda Element. Leveraging his expertise as an R&D engineer, his FD machine was inspired by the Element-D concept car shown at the 2006 SEMA Show; featuring a rear-wheel-drive conversion, a 629-horsepower J32 V6 powerplant with two Garrett turbochargers.
In a 2011 interview with OMGdrift, Robinson stated that his Element drifting journey originated in 2005, when he proposed to Honda executives that such a car could help the brand reach out to younger consumers. He added that using an Element was particularly special for Formula Drift, as it wasn’t exactly a “drift-proven” chassis, as say a 240SX.
“For us, using an Element would be very unique visually and therefore would be a great method to gain public interest in the car and in Honda,” he said. “Also, using an Element made the team learn everything for ourselves… no one offers a drift ready suspension kit for an Element! We definitely have had quite a bit to learn to make the car what it is today.”
1969 Chevrolet Camaro – Ryan Hampton
When the sport of drifting was first getting its legs in the United States, there were many creative builds that were clearly aimed at injecting some variety into a competition field that largely consisted of Japanese cars. In 2005, Ryan Hampton and Falken Tires fielded a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro to bring some American muscle to its stateside competition.
Built by Hotrods to Hell’s Steven McClenon, the first-ever purpose-built 1969 Camaro drift car started as a stock $10,000 Camaro and was extensively transformed to become a tire-shredding drift machine. The Chevy’s stock rear leaf-springs were ripped out for NASCAR-style rear suspension, while the front end was extensively reworked to increase steering angle.
Dual rear brake calipers were also fitted, as well as a 700+ horsepower 468 cubic-inch big-block V8. In an April 2025 interview with Texas Monthly, Hampton noted that the Camaro was not only loud enough to break local sound ordinances at some of the racetracks they raced at.
“[at] Irwindale Speedway out in California, there was a sound ordinance where you couldn’t go above 120 decibels, at a certain amount of feet. And trust me, this car was nowhere near,” he said. “This thing that shook the ground, it was, it was a 468-cubic-inch big-block, high-compression, had 700 horsepower, and it was every bit of ear-piercing noise that you could put onto a track, but they were like, “Nope, he’s good.””
Ferrari 599 GTB – Federico Sceriffo
Drifting is an international sport, and Italian national Federico Sceriffo is a prime example of it. After competing at a high level in drifting championships in his native Italy, the prestigious D1 Grand Prix in Japan, and even as a driver for Red Bull China, he made sure to make a splash when he joined Formula Drift in 2018.
With the help of several investors, Sceriffo joined the FD grid with “Fiorella,” a specially modified Ferrari 599 GTB. Starting off as a black 599 GTB, Fiorella got a new paint job, a roll cage, a new six-speed sequential box, wider wheels and widebody fenders, as well as an upgraded steering rack that gave it a wider range of steering angle. In addition to other drift car accoutrements like hydraulic dual-caliper brakes, the Ferrari V12 initially got a pair of superchargers, switching to a single Garrett G42 1450 turbocharger in 2021 to make upwards of 1,000 horsepower.
Drifting the Ferrari doesn’t come without difficulty; on his debut, Sceriffo hit a wall, causing a fuel line to burst and set the car on fire. Though the car was rebuilt, Sceriffo told Forza magazine in April 2025 that overall, his biggest challenge remains the fact that the Ferrari’s grip-biased characteristics make Fiorella difficult to take sideways.
“I mean, she is a lady, and a fine lady just doesn’t normally like to dance around and blow a lot of rubber smoke. She will gladly do donuts all day, but to go 90 mph sideways? No,” he said. “I am always making adjustments to gain better control, but she has a unique way. I simply have to trust her to death, otherwise she will just not drift because she has amazing grip.”