Did you know there was a Guinness World Record for fastest drift? Neither did we. That’s why we were surprised to learn that a 2016 Nissan GT-R NISMO had recently shattered the old record at an airstrip in Dubai. The former record held by Jakub Przygonski of Poland is now held by Japanese drift champion Masato Kawabata at the wheel of the iconic GT-R NISMO.
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Who is Masato Kawabata?
Kawabata is a Japanese professional drifting driver who competes in the D1 Grand Prix series for Team Toyo. He’s a Nissan fan from way back, having driven them almost exclusively for two decades. His first car at age 18 was a Nissan 180SX, which he almost immediately started entering drift contests in. After winning his first drift competition at 19, he was hooked. The rest is history.
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2016 Nissan GT-R NISMO
The GT-R NISMO is a 600 hp track monster. With its twin-turbo V6, dual-clutch transmission, all-wheel drive, NISMO-tuned suspension and advanced dynamic control, it’s practically made for setting land speed records. For example, it goes around the Nurburgring in Germany in just 7 minutes, 8 seconds, a time very few production cars (few race cars, even!) can beat.
World record for fastest drift
The GT-R NISMO is designed for stability, agility and confidence-inspiring handling. But drifting requires the car to step out of line and be a little out of control. So how did they get the GT-R to misbehave? Besides putting Kawabata at the wheel, all Nissan had to do was increase the horsepower a little. Well, OK, a LOT. 1,380 hp, to be precise. That’s what it took to get the car up to nearly 190 mph and still be able to break the tires loose and go drifting!
