#drift

SEMA is filled with insane builds, some of them are tasteful while others…well, aren’t.

Anyone familiar with Ken Block and his Gymkhana videos knows just how well he can smoke a set of tires and AutoGuide had the chance during this year’s SEMA Show to go along for a ride.

Toyota is embracing its GT 86 model in many different ways worldwide, one of which is launching its own drifting team in the United Arab Emirates.

The Toyota GT 86 is being hyped as a drift car extraordinaire, which seems to be a fitting title after watching the video below.

This video comes out of Japan, and shows off two GT 86s, (which will be badged as Scion FR-S s in North America), drifting around an impromptu pylon marked track. Both the drivers are out having some fun, and showing off their skills for the crowd.

Check out the video abelow, and let us know what you think of the Toyota GT 86 in the comments section below.

There’s a ton of buzz surrounding the return of HKS to drifting with Nobuteru Taniguchi behind the wheel of a Toyota GT 86. Now they were the first ones to throw the new sports car on the dyno, pulling down around 170-rwhp which has about a 15-percent drivetrain loss (200-hp crank), which is pretty impressive.

HKS also spent sometime showing off their excitement about the GT 86 and the return of Nobuteru Taniguchi, with footage of NOB driving a GT 86 and speaking about it. The video ends with the upcoming D1 Grand Prix competition drift car and Taniguchi putting it through its paces.

Check out the lengthy video after the break featuring HKS’s driver, Nobuteru Taniguchi and the Toyota GT 86 getting dyno’ed.

[Source: FT86 Club]

Ken Block, the man who knows a thing or two about getting a car to go sideways, has revealed the release date for the long awaited Gymkhana 4.

Think the 3D craze is just a fad and going away silently into the night? Think again. As skeptical as we were with the whole Avatar movie craze in 3D, seeing was believing. How technology has changed over the years has seriously impacted how we enjoy our entertainment at home. With more and more sports broadcasts going towards 3D, it’s no surprise the brilliant minds over at Formula Drift have teamed up with DIRECTV to bring the first ever 3D drifting broadcast to households nationwide.

The footage will be filmed at this weekend’s season finale at Irwindale Speedway and DIRECTV couldn’t have picked a better venue. With its high speed banks and insane clipping points, Irwindale Speedway is also officially known as the “House of Drift” and will truly let viewers get a great idea of what drifting is all about. For those who have witnessed drifting at a live event, the excitement level is intense. And perhaps drifting in 3D will come as close as we can get to the excitement from our households.

Formula Drift claims that it’ll be aired before the end of the year on DIRECTV’s 3D channel, n3D. Perhaps it’ll be a sign of things to come for 2011?

Darren McNamara has had an impressive run drifting in America under the Team Falken name. Representing Ireland, Team Falken Tire picked McNamara up to join their team after being impressed with his skills behind the wheels of a Toyota AE86. Now Team Need for Speed has enlisted D-MAC’s help to broaden their European reach and putting him back behind the wheel of an AE86.

Here’s the most anticipated, yet expected drift news of the year. D1 Grand Prix has announced that their US-based events will be pushed until the 2011 season, and even then we find that hard to believe. All the rumors that were brewing about a 2010 season had basically faded away, and as much as we’d hate to say it, a lot of people just stopped even caring if the D1 Grand Prix had a presence this year.

The fact is, D1 Grand Prix was great for the sport of drifting in America in its initial stages, bringing in all the excitement that drift enthusiasts yearned for. But the company’s trials and tribulations in America have really left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. Combine that with the fact that Formula Drift is very much alive and well, running extremely successful events and at the end of the day we’re not really sure who would care for D1 Grand Prix in America.

But the good news is, Japan’s series will still be shown on SPEED TV and that is still scheduled as promised. We’ll just have to enjoy the drama on the television.

Official press release available after the break.

Chrysler’s global parts and service division, Mopar, will continue its successful drifting program in 2009 using the new dodge Challenger. The Challenger replaces the Charger used in years past by Dodge driver and two-time Formula D Champion Samuel Hübinette.

Significantly lighter than the factory car thanks to a stripped-down interior and a new carbon fiber body by NuFormz Racing, the shiny silver drift car is powered by a Mopar A8 engine built by Gary Stanton Racing Engines. With the addition of Mopar W9 ported heads and, no doubt, loads of other internal modifications, the Mopar Drift Challenger now makes 850 hp and 849 ft-lbs of torque.

Mopar also supplied the sway bars for the custom suspension.

For 2009 Mopar will continue its sponsorship agreement with BF Goodrich.

One interesting highlight is the use of rollerblade wheels on the rear quarter panels – a design intended to keep the big brute sliding across the concrete barriers (as is likely to happen) instead of bouncing off them.

The 2009 Formula D season is scheduled to begin April 10th at Long Beach.

Official press release after the jump: