Drifting as a motor sport is still on the rise and Scion is jumping in with full conviction. Scion's drift car, based on a front-wheel-drive tC sports coupe, has been turned into a rear-wheel-drive version by exhaust and suspension manufacturer RS*R. The Scion tC shares its platform with Japanese all-wheel-drive cars like the Avensis and Caldina. RS*R also changed the stock transverse engine into a longitudinal engine to ensure that power is driven directly to the rear wheels.

Of course Scion has also extensively enhanced the performance of the sports coupe, which now features a 3SGE Beams motor, HKS GT3037 turbo and intercooler, Blitz Dual SBC boost controller and AEM EMS engine management system. The performance has been raised from 161 hp in the stock tC to over 400 hp!

"Scion has participated in motorsports for three years and the fan support has been incredible," said Jack Hollis, Scion vice president. "Drifting is an exciting, emerging motorsport with a dedicated and intense fan base. We think the fans will be just as excited as we are about our RS*R Scion tC as it demonstrates one of Scion's primary philosophies, customization.”

21 year old Ken Gushi, who learned to drift at the age of 13 and started his drifting career at 16, will be piloting the car. "We think our first season of drift will be a knock-out," said Hollis. "We've got the talented Ken Gushi behind the wheel of one of the hottest tCs out there."

This year's Formula Drift season starts tomorrow at the Streets of Long Beach in California.