Toyota Demo drift car at SEMA

Stephan Papadakis at Papadakis Racing, in partnership with Toyota Motor North America, built this 2019 Toyota Corolla ‘Demo Drift’ car displayed in the Toyota 2018 SEMA booth. The difference between this ‘‘Demo Drift’ car and a ‘Formula DRIFT PRO’’ car is in the engine. The ‘demo’ car uses a Toyota 2AR 2.7-liter (165 cubic inch) engine fed with a BorgWarner turbocharger and a nitrous oxide system to develop 850 horsepower, while the engine in the ‘PRO’ car driven by Norwegian driver Frederic Aasbo develops more than 1000 horsepower.   

To convert the Corolla front-wheel drive layout to rear-wheel drive, Papadakis Racing had to cut the interior floor and install a massive transmission tunnel to accept the G-Force 4-speed transmission before they installed a custom-built roll cage. The front and rear suspension pieces are custom-machined out of billet aluminum and the car uses Stoptech brakes.

The gold-finished Motegi Racing wheels are wrapped in Nexen tires, and the car is cloaked in a custom-built carbon fiber body panels built by Jonsibal Designworks and Toyota Racing Development which results in a much more aggressive look than the base Corolla. The striking Jonsibal Designworks graphics package is reminiscent of the livery of the 1980’s All American Racing IMSA GTU race cars.  

All SEMA photos by the author