There's a long line of Red Bull-liveried drift cars and, while 'Mad' Mike Whidett's insane Mazdas are probably the most prominent of the bunch, this Lexus RC F will surely make a name for itself in international drifting championships once its 1,200 horsepower are finally unleashed on the course.

An Arabian drift missile

The Lexus RC F is the go-fast version of Lexus' compact luxury coupe. Packing a 5.0-liter V-8 that develops 467 horsepower at 7,100 rpm and 389 pound-feet of torque between 4,800 and 5,600 rpm, the RC F is a sort of a suited and booted hooligan in that it can ride serenely down the highway with the V-8 buzzing away in high gear or it can light up its rear tires as it screeches away from a stop sign. This latter personality trait is the one Al-Futtaim Lexus in the United Arab Emirates wanted to exploit when it set about building an RC F drift machine.

The end result is an output of 1,200 horsepower and 1,080 pound-feet of torque which probably allows the car to go from naught to 60 mph from a standstill in about three seconds. The power reaches the wheels through a sequential transmission.

The RC F, slated to be driven by Ahmad Daham, a double King of the Desert and double Emirates Drift Championship winner, is 1,100 pounds lighter than a run-of-the-mill RC F. The weight loss has been achieved via the use heavy use of carbon-kevlar body panels (as you can see from the exposed kevlar around the nose of the car). The Lexus now weighs just shy of 3,000 pounds and it sports a new rear diff, new brakes, and suspension components. It rides on Rays Engineering 57CR rims enveloped by Toyo Proxes R888R semi-slicks.

Inside the cabin, all of the creature comforts have been deleted as well as all of the sound deadening and interior trim pieces. All you've got left is the FIA-grade bucket seat with six-point harnesses, a Sparco steering wheel, adjustable pedal assembly, and part-flocked carbon fiber dash.

While the car is yet to compete in anger due to the ongoing global pandemic, we're sure it will raise at least a few eyebrows once its wide-bodied self shows up at prominent drift events.