Red Bull drifter Ahmad Daham reveals most advanced drift machine on the planet

AMMAN — Drift star Ahmad Daham has again teamed up with Lexus, this time to develop the most powerful, most advanced drift car on the planet, according to a statement from the Red Bull Media Service.

The build set out to not only to develop on the success of Daham previous RC F Drift effort, but also to showcase Lexus top-flight performance-craft to the global Drift community. 

This Red Bull athlete’s latest FIA Drift-spec machine is a 1,200HP RC F-based weapon weighing 1250kg/2755lb – covered in a bespoke featherweight Carbon Kevlar body shell. 

Moreover, there was a purpose and a focus to this build beyond just raw power and speed. Daham’s RC F Carbon Kevlar, which he hopes to be using in drift championships around the world, involves an obsessive attention to detail in the chassis, powertrain, and presentation that elevates the craft of its execution to mirror Lexus levels of takumi car-building.

The result is a unique, world-class drift car that, even in a region renowned for high-power ultimate-level builds, is truly exceptional.

Daham chose the Lexus RC F as the platform for his latest project after building his first RC F drift car which thrilled the crowds on its debut at The Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2019.

“Building a car like this took so much effort not only from me, but from the team and partners to help me achieve my goals with this machine. I would like to thank every single partner for their continuous support and labour done to complete this project,” Daham said.

This car has many refinements over the first RC F drift car, not least because Daham had more time to build it. The first car was conceived and built in a record 70 days and stands as testament to the builder’s capability and resourcefulness. 

Two themes are central to the latest RC F Carbon Kevlar drift car — more power and less weight. The weight loss over the standard RCF was achieved by thoroughly rethinking the stripped platform and then fabricating this race vehicle using materials focused on weight reduction. In addition, mass was also more optimally positioned in the chassis to support car’s drift mission.

Python Garage fabricated super-light Carbon-Kevlar body panels helping the whole car shave more than 500kg off the showroom RC F as part of the mission to achieve a weight that is competitive with other drifters.

The power part of the equation has been provided by inserting a heavily tuned version of the tuner-favourite 2JZ straight-six single turbo motor in place of the standard car’s naturally aspirated V8 that provides 1,200HP — four times the standard output.

The iron-blocked 2JZ motor, which drives through a four-speed Samsonas sequential gearbox and twin-plate Competition Clutch, was chosen due to the wide variety of readily available tuning parts. 

The 2JZ’s legendary robustness, compact size and familiar architecture have made it a proven source of motivation for high output drift efforts around the globe. Daham’s years of familiarity with this engine also helps make it easier to tune, modify and adjust quickly at drift events. 

Key tuning components include a Garrett GTX3584 turbocharger, GSC Power Division valve train and a triple-pump fuel system from Radium Engineering. 

A Titan Motorsport dry sump has been added to improve reliability and a Nitrous Express 200HP kit bolted on to help spool up the turbo and cool the intake charge.

Since keeping a close eye on all these systems is critical to drift success, Daham has included his preferred equipment from New Zealand’s Link company — a Thunder ECU and MXS Strada dash. 

With the power and the weight where Daham wanted them, he turned his attention to the chassis tuning to make the most of the changes. 

The most significant alterations include swapping the rear differential for a Winters unit — purely to enable swift trackside ratio changes. And the replacement of the brakes with Wilwood racing callipers, to reduce unsprung mass — which enables faster changes of direction.

FIGs Engineering was tapped to make the angle kit, a drift car essential. Three-way BC racing coilovers are used to allow adjustments to both rebound and compression damping to allow Daham to perfect his set up.

The finishing touches are a set of Japan’s finest Rays Engineering 57CR wheels riding on R888R TOYO rubber.