Before we go any further, let's make one thing clear: When I say "sideways," I mean sideways. What we have here is some unhinged, prescription-strength, industrial-grade madness. And the cars—bone-stock Evolution Xs—do it happily, and they ask (beg, plead, pray) for you to keep it up, and all four tires burn like the Cuyahoga while you dance the dance of a thousand rally stars. If you listen closely, you can hear Tommi Mäkinen laughing.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

For the most part, one-day driving schools are not the stuff of legend. You show up, you take a class, you play on a skid pad, and you go home. This is not what happens at the one-day Evolution Experience. Mitsubishi Motors and Russell are well aware of the Evo X's strengths, and as such, the Evo school's curriculum was designed to highlight the car's killer chassis and all-wheel-drive system. Over the course of eight hours, you become intimately familiar with both the laws of physics and the Evo's staggeringly talented rear differential. You also spend most of your time leading with your taillights.

If the whole process sounds boring, then you're either the type of person who gets carsick in the parking lot at church or you have no soul. The school's exercises are spread across two large skid pads and all of Infineon Raceway's 2.5-mile track; the program is aimed at drivers of modest skill, but the ass-out exposure to one of the best all-wheel-drive production cars on the planet should be enough to draw more experienced 'shoes. As with most Russell programs, the emphasis is on tailored instruction and at-your-own-pace improvement; the school's instructors are happy to vary their teaching style based on student skill and need. Counterintuitive lessons abound—the Evo's unique all-wheel-drive system and active rear diff ensure that a lot of old-school techniques don't apply, and you can find yourself at minimum yaw if you try and go with your instincts. (A tip: Countersteer less, throw the car around more. And don't be afraid to throw it hard.)

All told, the Russell program isn't so much driving school as treatise on the Evo's genius—by showing ordinary folk the ins and outs of sliding a rally rocket on dry pavement, it merely reinforces the Lancer's formidable legend. At $1000 tuition, is it a bit too expensive for what you get? Probably. Is the whole production simply an elaborate advertisement for the most capable Mitsubishi ever built? Of course. Does that make it any less worthwhile? Not in the slightest.

The details: Jim Russell Racing Driver's School. Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California. One thousand ($1000) dollars tuition per driver. www.jimrussellusa.com.

Falken Tires took the top three spots at the end of the event with Darren McNamara landing in first, the Mustang wall crashing Vaughn Gittin Jr. came in second with Tyler McQuarrie placing third. [via AutoBlock]

With a political class comprised of imbeciles, Communists, thieves and a strong selection of imbecile Communists turned thieves who operate a hungry and comically inept state, Hungary is not exactly a success story in recent years. A refreshing exception to the general malaise is the local drift scene, which has grown by leaps and bounds since its birth around 2005.

Fueled by an abundance of BMW E30’s and inspired by AE86-o-philes braving the incompetence and plundering of the local postal and customs services to order specialist components from Japan, drifting happens all over the country. I have written about it before, but if you don’t consider a thousand words your friends, I strongly suggest watching this 3'35" video of a recent drift contest, held at the Kakucsring racetrack 30 miles southeast of Budapest. It was edited by whiz kid György Szeljak, whose work has been featured on Jalopnik before, and the only spoken Hungarian words translate to “pool party on Friday,” so don’t fret about volumes of Moon language.

Apart from that, it’s 215 seconds of noise, smoke, ratty Bimmers, suave tsuiso moves and incredible camera angles. Don’t miss the Jolly Roger joining the Hungarian flag on a rear wing tacked to the bootlid of an RX-8.

It makes us want to live sideways.
(Hat Tip To Jim!)

[vimeo via drift mechaniks]

Formula DRIFT Announces Red Bull Drifting World Championship

LONG BEACH, Calif. - July 14, 2008 - Formula DRIFT, North America's premier drifting Sanctioning Body, has partnered with Red Bull Energy Drink, the world's leading energy drink, to create one of the world's most anticipated drifting events ever - the Red Bull Drifting World Championship. The event, which will feature 32 of the world's best drifters, will be held on the docks at the Port of Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, November 15, 2008.

The Red Bull Drifting World Championship will bring the best drifting drivers in the world together to compete in a single historic event. Drivers from the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Europe and Canada will participate, but only one will claim the title of Red Bull Drifting World Champion. Current and past champions from the world's top professional drifting series will receive an exclusive invitation to showcase their skills and compete for the largest drifting prize purse ever offered.

"Formula DRIFT has worked over the last five years to bring the drifting world closer together via our partnered events in Singapore and Mexico as well as our open door/open dialogue with the top professional drifting leagues from each corner of the world. We are excited to be able to team up with Red Bull to bring the world together and stage the toughest competition with the best drivers," stated Jim Liaw, President/Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT.

The purpose-built course will include unprecedented features that will test the limits of the drivers and their cars such as a long straight to ensure triple-digit entry speeds, a big, sweeping first turn for high-speed drifting and multiple, technically challenging turns. Trackside viewing areas will allow spectators to get up close and personal with the competition.

"It is an exciting time for the sport of drifting. Red Bull is the leader for innovative sporting events worldwide and now drivers will be challenged like never before in a completely different environment than we're used to," said Rhys Millen, 2005 Formula DRIFT champion. "I'm proud to be flying the Red Bull colors heading into the Red Bull Drifting World Championship."

Formula DRIFT, North America's professional drifting championship series, will play the role of organizer, co-promoter, and sanctioning body for the World Championship event. Judging will be based on current Formula DRIFT rules and regulations with the possible addition of two international judges.

More information will be disclosed at a later date including brand and media partners and participating drivers.

[Source: Formula DRIFT]

As you can see, the Skyline was far from stock. It started life as an R32 GTS-T, but now it's powered by a RB26 from an R33 GT-R. The ride feels brutal at first, but you quickly adjust your mindset as your expectations realize that this is a full-on stripped-out racer capable of running in the highest level of drift competition. You may think it sounds loud in the video, but that was with the silencer on, something that comes off when it hits the track.

While the shop at ONI JDM isn't particularly big, you get the sense that the business is an extension of the guys' passion. Take the guy that gave me a drive in the R32, he worked as a mechanic during the week, but was a racer and drifter on the weekends. Now, I know that many of us here at Jalopnik aren't necessarily into the tuner scene, but you've gotta admire that dual-purpose spirit of racing on Sunday then wrenching on Monday.

So, despite the free health care, we've discovered the first real reason to move to Canada: awesome JDM rides.

[Check out their website at: ONIJDM.com]

Update: Ok, so the video was probably made in Hong Kong, and that language is Cantonese. Time for us to brush up on our foreign languages.
We tried to translate the video's description and came up with "Qian Chiale the official graciousness elegant television propagandizes the short film." Indeed.
[YouTube]

This has to be one of the most aggressive Enzo drivers we've ever seen. We'd be afraid to pull the $1,000,000 limited edition car named after the Ferrari founder out of neutral. Well, that's not true — but we know we wouldn't be drifting one of these bad boys around the track. But...this driver — who is not Stefan — feels more than happy to do it...and we're more than happy to watch.

Related:
Breaking! Brokeback Enzo Case — The Tribulations and Trials of Stefan Eriksson [internal]

The best thing about this feature, besides bringing the word "hoon" to an American audience unfamiliar with its color and precision, is occasionally finding a heady mix of stupidity, insanity and genius, usually the result of too many resources, too much free time and not enough common sense. Take, for example, the guy in this clip who just happens to have access to a MAN XL cabover truck, a race track, lots of rubber and massive quantities of hoonage. Hilarity ensues. [Thanks to J. for the tip.]

Sdrift [Google Video]

Related:
More Hoons of the Day [internal]

Ferrari fans hanging on Modena's every detail can delight in the first video vision of the new Imola /600 / Scaglietti coupe. Some stealthy soul caught the upcoming two-door on Italy's Fiorano test track, where the coupe was being put through its paces, including a four-wheel drift around a gentle back bend. Poetry in motion, even if just for a few seconds.

Ferrari 600 Fiorano Spy (registration required, or use something called Bugmenot [Fastdrive via Autoblog.it]

Related:
More on the Imola [internal]