Drifting is a popular motor sport that was created in Japan and has slowly grown to worldwide popularity due to the internet, big production Hollywood movies, and video games. Drifting cars are vehicles specifically made to perform the automotive stunt known as drifting. What is drifting? It is basically a controlled fish tail, where the object is to get as sideways as possible while creating the most smoke and also maintaining a very high rate of speed.

Your average everyday street car could not stand up to the punishment that the act of drifting puts onto cars. Therefore many shops, racing teams, and enthusiasts are creating drifting cars specifically made to perform at these peak levels. Drifting cars must have certain qualities to make them a good contender for the sideways action going on around racing tracks worldwide.

Drivetrain:

Drifting cars must be rear wheel drive or four wheel drive. It is physically impossible for a front wheel drive car to perform a true drift because no power is being driven to the rear wheels. Many front wheel drivers use their emergency brake to perform “powerslides” which resemble drifting but are completely different. A rear wheel drive car is best because constant power to the rear wheels means that the slide can be maintained for longer periods providing you with a more smoky cooler looking display.

Engine Power:

Drifting cars usually have extraordinary levels of power output. The sheer amount of power it takes to over come the tire’s tendency to want to lock up in a wheel slide is incredible. Therefore most drifting cars have either unusually large engines or they use power adders such as turbochargers or superchargers to create massive levels of ground pounding power.

Suspension System And Driveline:

Drifting cars need to have a highly tuned and well balanced suspension system. These cars are usually really low to the ground because a lower center of gravity provides better balance. They also have incredibly large wheels and tires to provide more surface area, and finally drifting cars tend to employ oversized brakes to help bring them to a stop in case of an emergency.

Drifting cars are truly incredible machines capable of some of the most awesome automotive stunt work a man could ever witness. If you consider yourself a car guy then you should definitely check out he drifting scene.

Cool Drifting Video: