Red Bull’s athlete Ahmad Daham reveals the most advanced Lexus drift machine on the planet
KUWAIT: Drift star Ahmad Daham has again teamed up with Lexus, this time to develop the most powerful, most advanced Lexus drift car on the planet.
The thoughtful build set out to not only develop on the success of his previous RCF 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 RCF-based weapon weighing 1250kg/2755lb - covered in abespoke featherweight Carbon Kevlar body shell.
Moreover, there was a purpose and a focus to this build beyond just raw power and speed. Daham’s RCF Carbon Kevlar, which he hopes to be campaigning in drift championships around the world, involves an obsessive attention to detail in the chassis, power train, 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 ultimatelevel 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.
“I am honored to be partnering with a brand like Lexus. I am really thankful for the support the team has provided me as I built the new RC F Carbon Kevlar for the upcoming season. This car is so much fun to drive and I cannot wait to push it to its limit. We have learned a lot in 2019 as we kept a ‘Kaizen’ philosophy in our research and development. I look forward to another successful season and am confident with this partnership we will be able to achieve all our objectives,” said Ahmad.
“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 labor done to complete this project” he added.
This second 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. The locally fabricated “Python Garage” fabricated super-light Carbon-Kevlar body panels helping the whole car shave more than 500kg.of the showroom RC F as part of the mission to achieve a weight that is competitive amongst other drifters
The power part of the equation has been provided by inserting a heavily tuned - 1,200hp is four times the standard output - version of the tuner-favorite 2JZ straight-six single turbo motor in place of the standard car’s naturally aspirated V8.
The iron-blocked 2JZ motor, which drives through a four-speed Samson as 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. Ahmad’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 calipers, 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.