New Zealand drifter and world-renowned rotary nut Mike Whiddett – better known as Mad Mike – is no stranger to turning all sorts of left-field cars into sideways, rotary-powered drift machines.

Along with RX-7s, RX-8s, a current-model, RWD-converted Mazda 3, and his recently finished FURSTY Mazda 808 drift wagon (which was also his first car), at the top of Mike’s list is a car he calls ‘MadMac’. Built as a tribute to McLaren F1 racing founder and fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren, the MadMac is a McLaren P1 hypercar that has been widebodied and given a 1000hp, three-rotor billet 20B rotary engine transplant.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Mike has just revealed his latest build in a video on his YouTube channel yesterday. It’s a genuine-item, 1980s Formula 1 Grand Prix car, which he intends to turn into a sideways, tyre-blazing drift machine.

This 1986 March 87P F1 car was raced in 1987 by Italian driver Ivan Capelli for the Leyton House Racing team. More of an F3000 car adapted for F1, it was not one of the turbocharged monsters of the period like the Honda-powered McLarens.

“I’m a massive fan of the 80s and 90s; doesn’t matter whether its Formula 1, WRC, motocross or BMX,” says Mike.

“This was the dream, to always do that era of F1, back when there was the craziest drivers, barely any rules, and the craziest technicians building the most wild cars,” he continues.

So, how do you transform a late-80s Formula car into a dedicated drift machine? One major issue that Mike highlights in the video is the car’s transaxle design. All the rear suspension components mount to that transaxle, and with a rotary engine swap already pencilled in (though the type of rotary is still to be decided), there’s plenty of head-scratching to be done.

“We want to use as much of [the car] as we can, because we want to keep the heritage of this car,” says Mike. “Otherwise, we would’ve just built a frame and put a fibreglass F1 body on it.”

We’ll be keen to follow his progress and see how this wild concept becomes a reality.