Drifting never ceases to amaze with the amazing and downright silly combinations it concocts.
A Ferrari engine in a Toyota 86? Sure, why not. Let's take a covered rugby stadium and build a circuit on the grass playing surface, and tear it all down after it's all done? Sounds good to me. Lamborghini drift car? Lamborghini drift car.
And the latest four-wheeled Frankenstein in the mix is this: the Rockstar Energy Toyota Corolla iM (just a Corolla to you and me) to be driven by Fredric Aasbø in this year's American-based Formula Drift series. Check out the reveal clip above for the best Initial D anime reference you'll see today.
As you've probably guessed, this isn't your off-the-shelf Corolla. It's a rear-wheel drive converted, 1,000hp (745kW) animal, that can generate 850 ft-lbs. of torque.
Under the bonnet is Toyota's 2.4-litre 2AR four-cylinder engine, which is commonly used in the Toyota Camry. However, your normal Camry doesn't come with a turbocharger, nor the addition of nitrous...
Why a Corolla? Part of that might be down to what Toyota requested (they sell a heck of a lot more Corollas than 86s, so why not use that as the front for a motorsport campaign?).
It's also, like the cars and concepts listed above, part of drifting's nexus and fetish for things that are completely weird and off the wall.
Aasbø is a former series champ and a regular front runner, so this car will probably claim a few round wins this year. Let's see how the cute lil' guy fares next to the onslaught of two-door sports cars it's up against.
