Formula Drift Sneak Peeks

I was at Changi Exhibition Centre today for the Formula Drift media briefing, during which Ivan mentioned he is looking to place in the top 5. Here's hoping all 6 Singapore drifters put up a strong showing!

After the briefing, it was photo op time before Ivan Lim and other members of Team Goodyear commence scaring the shit out of the other poor journalists during the joy rides.





After splitting from the media briefing, I went looking for the Ford GT I saw on my way in...



550 bhp of American muscle, I think it belongs to Goodyear. Test drive please?



Parked besides the Ford supercar are three brand new 370Zs are Tan Chong. The 370Z is the official safety car for Formula Drift though for the life of me, I can't figure out how you will need a safety car in a drift competition...



But I am loving the revised looks of the latest Z. More focus, less flab, MORE horsepower. Yeah baby, yeah. My test drive will be sometime this month. Can't wait.



Moving to the pits, I supposed this give me an idea of the kind of weekend we can look forward to. Binter is coughing up a shitload of tyres for this one. Damn, plenty of tyre sizes and widths that I can use for my S15.





Plenty of stripped out hardcore drift machines in the pit but three particular cars caught my attention.



Actually its four cars but two were visually identical Lexus Aristos fielded by Type R Club from Hong Kong. Yes the top mount HKS T04Z snail did catch my initial attention but its the overall presentation of the two cars that impress me greatly. The entire build screams professionalism and top quality parts, with the mechanics looking deadly serious while setting up the car.




What a MX-5 doing in a drift competition? I disagree at first solely on principle, then I see the stripped out interior, welded in roll cage and industrial-sized bottle of NOS mounted in the back, with driver Jatuphon grinning like a Cheshire cat saying, "I like something different.."



Then I decide this maniac Miata could be fun to watch on race day.



Decide I'll end with some shots of Ivan Lim's daily driver. White on green TE37s with crazy offset and flared fenders. Plenty of other neat details such as removal of the rear wiper, no visible FMIC which likely means a V-mount.



Possibly the most understated yet coolest S15 in Singapore.



Formula Drift Singapore is shaping out to be better than last year.

Random Sightings: RE GT300 RX7, Daigo's Mustang, Team Orange Evo X

Some random snaps courtesy of Dino Dalle:

Team Orange's Evo X

Daigo (2008 D1GP champion) is currently contesting this Mustang for the 2009 season. Already ruffling the feathers of many diehard JDM fanboys.

Re Amemiya's 2009 entrant for GT300. It's sponsored by Mutiara Motors, a previously little-known Malaysian company. Interesting...

T-Shirts for Car Lovers!

The Carbon Clad Cars blog is pleased to launch our sister site CarbonClad.com, providing 100% cotton tees with exclusive motoring designs.

I assure you that you won't find these designs on any other t-shirt labels as I worked tirelessly with a couple of graphic designers who are as car crazy as I am to come up with these original babies.

We have Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Subaru, Toyota, Drift, Drag, Time Attack.... If its JDM, and its cool, we have it!

We ship internationally using registered mail and each T-shirt is only going for S$30 (approx US$20). From now til 31st March, key in coupon code 'CC' when you make your purchase for an additional 20% off! You know I love you...

Go on visit the site, buy a tee or two if you like the designs and tell your friends about it. Spread the love!

Northern FD RX7 and RE-Xtreme

Saw one of our northern brothers' FD RX7 in town a while back. Perhaps Eu Jin's friends know the owner of this car?

I don't know much about rotaries but everyone can admire the bodywork of this nicely put together white beauty.

On a related note, for those who wants to see more of FD RX7s, look no further RE-Xtreme's amazing blog. The blogger's name is Russ. He's based in Japan and goes to Tsukuba regularly to capture the track antics of RX7s. He owned a couple of awesome RX7s but currently drives a MX5. Living the dream...

Princess Powered RX8

Here's a standout RX8 - a clean bodykit (looks like Knightsport but I could be wrong), Emotion CR Kai rims, CF bonnet AND extra points for it is built and driven by a female! The flowers and angel wings graphics are the first giveaway that its built by the fairer sex...

The sign provides further clues. Note the cool carbon fibre door pillars.
Check out the stuffed toy beside the steering wheel.
All in all, kudos to the owner for putting together a tough looking RX8 that is still distinctly feminine.

ST Wangan FD RX7

I was at ST Wangan (based in Sunway, Malaysia) to repair my S15 when my turbo water line cracked on a run up north to watch Japan GT in Sepang. Perhaps the only consolation was getting to see their demo RX7 while I waited for a new water line to be fitted.



It looks like a RE Amemiya tribute vehicle, though JDM fans will spot that the wheels used are Volks, not Enkei as preferred by RE. Anyway, the FD looks amazing up close and is already featured in several magazines to date.