First published in the September 2004 issue of Street Machine

Ever wondered why a lot of Japanese, high performance, rear-wheel-drive cars are a bit twitchy in the bum? It makes them highly suitable for the hugely popular Japanese pastime of drifting.

Drifting is all about getting serious sideways attitude while sliding through a corner — it’s an artistic affair rather than racing. Think speedway-style, tail-out action, on bitumen, with the back tyres blazing away. The good guys get it sideways well before the corner and use deft control (and a fair bit of right boot) to hold the slide (drift) through the entire corner and out the other side. It’s certainly spectacular to watch!

Although originating in Japan, dedicated drifting competitions are sweeping the world. There are professional competitors travelling the world just … drifting. The American Formula Drift series is huge: Rhys Millen (son of world-famous driver and constructor Rod Millen) even has a factory-backed Pontiac GTO drift car!

Unlike the Japanese, with their limited range of front-engined, rear-wheel-drive performance cars, Australia street machiners have been brought up on a diet of V8-power driving the correct wheels. Any of these beasties could easily be turned into a killer drift car — Tony Harrison and his wicked VN SS beat a field of more fancied Japanese competitors at the drift competition held at Queensland Raceway’s Powercruise. But they have to be set-up right. Our hypothetical drift Torana includes some of the key features.

Features:

• Super-stiff suspension
• Adjustable coil-overs preferred
• Wide torque spread rather than big power
• Excellent chassis balance
• Stiff chassis; roll cage helps
• Low profile performance tyres, heavily offset lightweight rims
• Race-style buckets for driver support
• Decent weight distribution

• Two-way LSD around 4.11:1 ratio
• Hardcore clutch to handle clutch popping
• Zero understeer, fast steering rack, good turn-in