Tanner Foust's V8 RWD Scion tC Formula Drift car unveiled
2009 Formula D AEM/Rockstar Scion tC - Click above for high-res image gallery
While all eyes were on Scion unveiling its take on the Toyota iQ city car at the New York Auto Show, the youth-oriented Toyota division quietly let slip a batch of photos of its latest challenger for the Formula Drift championship. But if these photos are any indication, it'll be the last time this insanely modified Scion tC will be doing anything quietly.
Although the drift car you see here looks like a tC, underneath it's anything but... heck, it doesn't even use the tC's floorplan, it's so heavily modified. As previewed last week on video, this latest Scion drifter, prepared by drag racing and drift veteran Stephan Papadakis of Advanced Engine Management (AEM), packs a V8 courtesy of Toyota's NASCAR racing program, pumping 650 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque through a four-speed shifter to the rear wheels. Of course, there's only one driftsmith who could handle this much machine, and that's Tanner Foust.
The two-time defending Formula D champion – who has some extra time on his lightning-quick hands since Top Gear USA got canceled – ditches the Nissan Z he's been fielding the last few years in favor of this modified Scion, and takes his sponsor Rockstar Energy Drink along with him. The car debuted this weekend at the Formula D season opener in Long Beach, California, where Foust finished third and our man Drew Phillips was on hand to catch it in his lens. Check out the images in the pair of hi-res gallery below.
Gallery: 2009 Formula D AEM/Rockstar Scion tC
Gallery: Tanner Foust's AEM/Rockstar Scion tC
Live photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc
[Source: Scion via Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
LimeDaiquiri 11:02AM (4/13/2009)
Ehrm...Anymore photos of the red S15?
Reply
Quantumphysics 11:24AM (4/13/2009)
YOU MIGHT BE A RICER IF....
- you think adding stickers gives your car more HP.
- you have an air spoiler that belongs on a Cessna
- you brag about smoking V8's and you only race against Ford Trucks
- your exhaust note sounds like an Elephant farting.
Jason 11:41AM (4/13/2009)
And the point of the ricer post was?
Joe K. 11:55AM (4/13/2009)
He wanted to use jokes he heard from the Blue Collar Comedy tour to make fun of something he doesn't understand. Not that I understand the ricer movement, but at least I don't still a tired bit to try and attract attention...
Mr.TiredOfEconomicDownturn 12:05PM (4/13/2009)
@ Quantumphysics
"you think adding stickers gives your car more HP"
- More like sponsor stickers.
"you have an air spoiler that belongs on a Cessna"
True. But in this case, it's functional.
"you brag about smoking V8's and you only race against Ford Trucks"
- Hmm... I don't think drift cars would ever race Ford trucks. Plus, they would smoke those heavy beasts.
"your exhaust note sounds like an Elephant farting"
- No fart can here, buddy.
Jake B 1:25PM (4/13/2009)
For real though, that S15. Who cares about some frankenstein Toyota when that gorgeous baby is on the stage.
ajkl 11:12AM (4/13/2009)
pic13...what's up with the non-circular rotors?!?
Reply
Neil Schelly 11:53AM (4/13/2009)
Scalloped rotors save weight.
-N
ajkl 12:11PM (4/13/2009)
ok...but wouldn't a circular rotor of same surface area have the same weight?
BoxerFanatic 1:20PM (4/13/2009)
They save weight with the same large diameter benefits of a larger rotor.
A rotor of the same weight would be smaller diameter than the scalloped one.
A rotor of the same diameter without scallops would be heavier. They trade some thermal capacity for lower mass and un-sprung rotational weight. The discs still likely have quite a lot of thermal capacity, as the amount of heat they can withstand. Usually the pad or the brake hydraulic fluid, or even the wheel hubs being too thin on light weight wheels, are more of a heat concern than the brake discs anyway.
The pad area of the rotor and the pad can be larger with a larger diameter, and impart more leverage at the outside edge, and absorb more heat in the pad, with better air-cooling de-gassing, and pad-deglazing with the scalloped rotor.
The downside is, that it wears pads down faster, but that is hardly a concern when so many parts, including brakes are considered consumables in racing.
a 11:16AM (4/13/2009)
i wonder if it's possible to put the same engine into a 7gen celica
Reply
BoxerFanatic 1:24PM (4/13/2009)
If you cut the car to pieces, and re-build it as a RWD race car with a LOT of custom fabrication... the body is just the body of choice at that point... Could be tC, Celica, or even a Prius, if you really wanted. All it takes is $$$$$$ and skill.
jv2k 11:19AM (4/13/2009)
Rwd v8. It's another car with a Tc shell on it.
Reply
Josiah 11:21AM (4/13/2009)
Yeah, which gets it the big thumbs down in my book. Anyone can drop a "shell" over a custom race setup, this has nothing to do with Scion, or the tC. He should have stuck with the Nissan.
Jason 11:41AM (4/13/2009)
If you saw the build post, the car is actually a tC chassis. Highly modified yes, but still a tC.
rooster 1:35PM (4/13/2009)
The standard tC would twist itself in two. Oh, and from the post...
"heck, it doesn't even use the tC's floorplan"
Preus 11:25AM (4/13/2009)
Bah. I don't like it.
Reply
AIL 11:28AM (4/13/2009)
Wow, that is relevant to, well, nothing. This is a TC like a nascar racer is a Taurus.
Let me know when toyota sells something fun and interesting again, altho I think we all know that will never happen.
Reply
catgirlshyla 6:03PM (4/13/2009)
STOP STEALING MY LINES!!!
Bats 11:30AM (4/13/2009)
I agree Josiah, that completely contradicts what drifting is about. The cars should remain modded production vehicles.
Reply