page_title: Drifting (motorsport)
section_title: Drift cars
hierarchical_section_title: Drifting (motorsport) / Drift cars
caption_attribution_description: Drifting at the en:D1NZ event at en:Mystery Creek Events Centre on July 7, 2007. Cropped from original.
context_page_description: Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner. The technique causes the rear slip angle to exceed the front slip angle to such an extent that often the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn. The sport of drifting is not to be confused with the four wheel drift, a classic cornering technique established in Grand Prix and sports car racing. Drifting is traditionally done by clutch kicking, then intentionally oversteering and countersteering.
  As a motoring discipline, drifting competitions were first popularized in Japan in the 1970s and further popularized by the 1995 manga series Initial D. Drifting competitions are held worldwide and are judged according to the speed, angle, showmanship and line taken through a corner or set of corners.
context_section_description: Drift cars are usually light- to moderate-weight rear-wheel-drive coupes and sedans, offering a large range of power levels. There have also been all-wheel drive cars that have been converted to rear-wheel drive such as the Subaru WRX, Toyota Avensis, Scion tC, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Nissan GT-R. Early on, AWD cars without conversion were allowed in some drifting competitions, and usually the rules allowed only a certain percentage of power to be sent to the front wheels, but they are banned in most (if not all) drifting competitions today.
  Despite the possibility of obtaining desirable Japanese domestic market vehicles in continents outside Japan, drifters in other countries prefer to use local versions of the same cars (for example, a Nissan 240SX instead of a Nissan Silvia S13, etc.), or even domestic cars. A high volume of Japanese imports were brought to countries such as Australia and New Zealand, however it is not unusual to see Australian/New Zealand domestic vehicles such as the Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon used in drifting competitions.
  The American market saw a relatively high volume of JDM cars being imported over the last decade, despite Japanese domestic vehicles being right-hand-drive only. Locally-sold imports such as the Lexus SC and Nissan 240SX feature heavily in American drifting, but they are usually modified with JDM engines to mirror their Japanese domestic equivalents (usually with a Toyota JZ-GTE or Nissan CA18DET/SR20DET/RB26DETT respectively).
  In the UK, there are a high level of Japanese imports used within the drifting scene, due in part to the UK sharing a right-hand drive layout with Japan. However, these cars often cost more than UK-market cars, partly due to import costs. There are plenty of UK and European models used as drift cars as well — older BMWs are particularly prominent due to cost and availability, with Volvo 300 series and Ford Sierras also proving popular.
  In the Formula Drift Professional series, cars range from highly tuned Japanese automobiles reflecting the original styles of drifting to all-new age makes and models. Due to no power limit restrictions in the series, it is not uncommon for competitors to use a variety of different powerplants. Popular variations of Chevrolet LS engines are often seen bolted down to Japanese frames.
  In the King of Europe Drift Series, the main professional drift series in Europe, BMW models have long ruled the scene, winning event after event, year after year. The most successful models include the E30, E36 and E46, which also present an advantage in cost (being more affordable than their Japanese rivals). For a few years, BMW V8 engine swaps were the most popular, providing a healthy 300 to 400 horsepower output. With the continuous evolution of the sport, however, these have now become obsolete, making way for more powerful American V8 engines or classic Toyota 2JZ-GTE engines.
  As an example, the top 15 cars in the 2003 D1GP, top 10 in the 2004 D1GP, and top 10 in the 2005 D1GP were as follows:
  The top cars in the Red Bull Drifting Championship were as follows:
  As for 2017, the top cars participating in Formula Drift are the Nissan 370Z, Nissan Silvia S14, Nissan Silvia S15, Toyota 86, BMW E46, Ford Mustang, and the Mazda MX-5.
caption: Nissan Silvia S15 drifting
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