1,000 Horsepower Formula Drift Corvette Shreds Some Rubber
1,000 Horsepower Formula Drift Corvette Shreds Some Rubber
Behind the scenes with the Falken tire drift team offers a unique look at this turbo Corvette.
We’ve covered a few drift ‘Vette builds recently, and that’s because some of them are super cool. Some folks might not really “get it,” but one thing that can’t be ignored is that sideways sliding action is enormously popular, and the C5 and C6 Corvettes have been an emerging must-have platform. Formula Drift recently visited Evergreen Speedway just outside of Seattle, Washington, and The Hoonigans have provided some behind-the-scenes action with a pro team.
As opposed to someone just giving it a try for the first time, Falken’s Corvette is properly built. Driven by Matt Field, the C6 drift Vette is obviously no longer road legal, and extremely modified. Narrating the video is Dan Sommer, and he asks Field about the car. “Right now it’s tuned down to 950. Honestly we’ve had an abundance of power and we’re just trying to keep the engine safe for the end of the year and we don’t need 1,050 which is what it usually makes.
Being a mostly style show, you’d think that talent isn’t really a playing factor. But skill plays a big role in accumulating points. Certain sections are set up to “hit” which really means just to brush by them, but if you get too close, the track bites back. And you have to perform all these stunts in close proximity to another car doing exactly the same.
Field managed to back up against the wall on one run, forcing lengthy repairs, but the points accumulated in earlier runs allowed him to go to other rounds. That wouldn’t be the last contact though. Another round ended with car-to-car contact, but that was just some simple fixes, and this time wasn’t the fault of Fields. But thankfully there are lots of sideways smokey action shots in between the drama.
