Like their Australian neighbors, New Zealand has a very vibrant drift scene that is continuing to expand. If you have any doubts about the talent coming out of New Zealand, Formula D star Rhys Millen's Kiwi heritage should show what the NZ drivers are capable of . Despite the country's relatively small size, New Zealand has two big pro drift series, the D1NZ series and the Stil Vodka NZ Drift Series which has appeared more recently. The good majority of the pro drivers in New Zealand can be seen competing in both series. In this post we will take a look at a few of the well known cars from the NZ scene and I think you will find some very cool stuff. From what I have seen, pro drifting in New Zealand is consists almost exclusively of Japanese cars, and the ease of which they can be imported into the country plays a large role in that.

Now here are some NZ's top drift machines-

Adam Richards A31 Cefiro

Adam is one of biggest stars from New Zealand and his camo-painted RB26-powered Nissan Cefiro makes tons of power and turns heads where ever it goes. Adam has been quite the globe trotter latley appearing both at the Irwindale All Star match last year and the European Drift Championship this season as well. Adam was the champion of the D1NZ series in 2005. He has his sights on the world drift stage and he appears to be doing quite well in his journey so far.

Gaz Whiter S14 Silvia

Gary "Gaz" Whiter is one the current stars of both the D1NZ and the Stil Vodka Series. He pilots this Toyo-sponsored S14 SIlvia with an S15 front end conversion. This car's GT28R-fed SR20 makes a big 410HP at the rear wheels. Those huge SSR wheels in the rear of his car measure 18"x11.5". Like Richards, Gaz also has his eye on competing overseas in the future.

Gee Mutch Subaru Impreza

One of the most unique drift cars in New Zealand has to be Gee Mutch's Impreza STI. The car is using a standard Subrau EJ25 powerplant and the car's 375hp are sent to the rear wheels through an S15 Silvia rear differential. I think that Gee's car is one of the few Imprezas that can pull off having this style of aero kit without looking tacky. I guess it also helps that the car's Tein suspension gives it nice stance.

Nick Teebon AE86 Levin

There are not many AE86's in the NZ pro drift ranks, but Nick's Levin coupe does a nice job of representing for the Hachi Roku guys. Like many AE86 drivers worldwide, Nick looks to Japanese AE86 heroes like Katsuhiro Ueo for his inspiration. His Levin is powered by a turbocharged 4AGE that makes 255hp to the wheels. While that may not seem like a lot, it is plenty of power for the lightweight AE86.

Daniel Woolhouse S15 Silvia

Dan is another one of the top drifters in New Zealand and was the champion of the 2006 D1NZ series. His flashy looking S15 makes 350hp to the wheels. Speaking of his wheels, they are ROH Stratos sized 18"x10" in the front and 18"x11" in the rear. Dan actually won't be driving this Silvia for much longer as a new Holden Commodore-based drift car is in the works for him. After the Commodore debuts, Dan would like to take his S15 drifting overseas.

Darren McDonald S13 Silvia

Darren's ocean colored S13 is fairly simple as far as drift car goes. The tuned SR20 makes 360hp to wheels and the exterior has a pretty basic look to it. Dan will soon be switching from this S13 to a freshly built S15 that he hopes will bring him more power along with greater reliability.  It see like many of the NZ drifters are planning to upgrade their cars. Maybe they are outgrowing their current ones?

Mike Whiddett FD3S RX7

One car that does not need to be replaced is Mad Mike Whiddett's crazy 3-rotor powered RX7. For all the juicy details on the beast, you can check out the feature I did on this car after seeing at Irwindale last year. In short, Mad Mike's car looks great and sounds even better. Styling-wise and and build-wise, this car has to be one of the finest RX7 drift cars anywhere in the world.

Carl Ruiterman S14 Silvia

In 2007 Carl Ruiterman was the series champion in D1NZ, the Stil Vodka Series, AND the Drift Revolution Series. That made for textbook domination all season long as he drove his black S14 Silvia. It's powered by a 2.2L stroked SR20 that makes 402hp to the wheels and has a trick dogbox transmission. Carl is hoping to get the chance to come to the United States later in the year to compete in one of the world all star events. This is a perfect example of a solidly built car and a talented driver achieving great success.

Tiger White S13 Silvia

Tiger's flat black and battle scarred S13 is another one of those cars that has a Mad Max vibe to it. In addition to its intimidating looks, the car is powered by an RB25DET that makes 342hp to the wheels with plenty of torque as well. Tiger's car is also one of the numerous New Zealand drift cars that is running suspension from Tein. Looks like they are big fans of the green stuff in NZ.

Curt Whitaker A31 Cefiro

Auckland's Curt Whitake is another driver who can be found competing behind the wheel of Nissan's four-door Cefiro. Curt's car is powered by an RB25DET that makes 350hp. You will probably notice that this car is equipped with the same wheels seen on many other cars in this article. They are the Driftek model from Koya wheels and them seem to be one of many wheels that are based on the original Nismo LMGT4 design. Hrm.. will this start another debate on real vs. replica wheels?

Aaron Bennett S13 Silvia

Aarons' S13 is pretty much a standard issue drift Silvia. The SR20 in Aaron's car is tuned to make a modest 335hp via a Greddy TD05 turbocharger. According to Aaron's car profile, he runs Falken tires in the front and Federal tires in the rear. Actually, many of the NZ cars are running mismatched tires it seems. I think some more tire companies need to jump in and sponsor these guys!

Jarius Wharerau FD3S RX7

Jarius is one of the most succesful drivers in New Zealand drift history and has recently stepped it up and brought his RX7 to the United States to compete in the Formula D series. At the same time he is also building an R34 Skyline four-door to use back home in NZ. As for the RX7, it is fully tuned and makes a solid 500hp. Not only has it seen plenty of drift action, but it has also been a proven drag car as well where it has run in the high ten second range. A very impressive combination of driver and car for sure.

Now that you have seen the big guys Here are a couple of the other NZ drift cars that have caught my eye-

This S13 was built by 3-Up in Japan and it looks like it rolled straight in from Ebisu or Nikko Circuit. The M-Sports aero is looking quite nice.

This is one of many C33 Nissan Laurels that I have seen in NZ events. Four-door Nissans in general seem to be very popular drift cars in New Zealand.

And I will finish this off with one more four-door Nisssan. I have talked about this camo R32 sedan before, but it deserves another mention here. The car's low stance and aero kit makes it look like it could be an MSC car from Japan.

So now you have basic look at the types of drift cars found in New Zealand. With all the worldwide expansion that the NZ drivers have been doing lately, you may be able to see some of these cars at a drift event near you soon.

D1NZ

Still Vodka Drift

Photos courtesy of Ignition Magazine and Devolution Photography

-Mike Garrett