Ok, so it was just a dream . . . but I got your attention, didn't I? I've read those articles about the drifting scene . . . and now it is here in the US. I was lucky enough to witness this first hand when I was in Japan . . . what a blast! It is only a matter of time before car companies start bring out RWD cars again.

The coolest part is that you only need 100 to 150 horsepower and a limited slip differential. It would be cheap to insure, and best of all it would be RWD just like real race cars are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Imagine a two door Matrix (this is how the Matrix SHOULD have been), with a 2.4L 4 cylinder, RWD. It will also have a sporty suspension, close ratio transmission, limited slip differential, and no sunroofs (I hope the sunroofs are optional, they must weigh 100+ lbs! Plus the fact that all of this weight in the top of the car adds to its center of gravity, and might make it feel more like a bus)!

Available on the aftermarket would be many different rear differential gearsets that would allow racers to make their car faster by just installing new rear gears . . . (Drool!)

It would be a new player on the drifting scene; now that everyone has switched to a front wheel drive layout. Think of it! All of the euro cars (except VW, but who cares about them!) have RWD, it has a sense of sporty-luxury to it! Luxury cars shouldn't be the only car on the market with RWD!

 

:D Toyota needs to make more RWD cars!

 

I agree. I have thought about this for a while. In Japan the bB comes in 4WD. You gotta wonder how hard it would be to convert a Scion xB (which might have the driveline tunnel and mounting points for a rear axle?) to RWD? Yeah, you would have to figure out a way to convert the two front axles to a single rear driveline... but other than that "little" problem....

BTW: I bought an 85 Toyota Corolla GT-S (AE86) on Friday for $500 just to use for drift practice. They are hard to find and sell for up to $5000 on eBay! Take a hint Scion!!!

** UPDATE **
That Corolla that I bought for $500? I sold it on eBay for $5500 in pretty much the same condition... faded paint and weathered interior. Wow.
** UPDATE **

Darren

 

i heard at school (toyota) that they are bring back the rear wheel drive corolla gts with the 20 valve engine.

 

I think that if they can do it priced competitively with a Civic or Focus then they will SCORE big time. That would be the first step.

The second step would be to make sure that aftermarket parts are availabel immediately after the car is released.

Lastly, althought it might not be practical, Toyota should design engine interchangability into the design. I would like to be able to pull out the base motor and wedge in the 2ZZ-GE or something. I mean, they don't need to worry about electronics or anything, just the basic engine mounts, etc... so that it is easier to do.

"Build it and they will come"

Darren

 

true but from froma technicians point the 2ZZ engine is not a good powerplant it its very limited to major mods.

 

True, I have read the same things. But my point is to make it easy to make swaps happen... the enthusiast will take it from there. That is one reason the Civic was so popular!

I mean, why not make it so a Chevy 350 will fit right in? <grin> Should Toyota care that people are buying their cars and throwing away the engines? Selling a car is still selling a car. Might as well build an awesome-handling drifter with a crappy engine that can easily be replaced with something with gobs of power.

Darren

 

Its one thing I wish Toyota would bring back. Toyota used to have Celicas with AWD hell they used to have turbos too. I guess they went away for cost or maybe repair reasons, I really don't know why. It's fuuny though because they really missed out on the import scene right when it got big. I wasn't even old enough to own these but I wish toyota would bring them back

 

Think about it... if the last model Tercels (95-00?) were RWD do you think that we would be snapping them up right now? Hell yeah. The ingredients:

Front engine / RWD
5-Spd Trans w LSD
Lightweight chassis
Cost competitive with other FWD cars in class

The first car company to bring that car out is going to reap the rewards, big time. Maybe it won't be Toyota... I would buy a Sentra or Suzuki RWD in a heartbeat!

Darren

 

okay what about (IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS) when the IS300 goes thru model change, soon i believe, why not simplify the design: simpler non hid headlights no altezzas on the altezza! no leather no rich people goodies etc. throw in one of the jdm lower displacent engines with lsd. sell it monospec 16,999 for a five speed 17,700 for the slushbox call it the ..... i dunno ZD XD oooooo RD how dope right? this would be a true civic killer. i mean why buy an ex civic sedan when you could have an easily modded rwd scion RD? Id buy it! oh wait the fist letter is lower case so rD!

I am not even joking on this. This pattern would fall instep with the low risk approach that toyota has taken on the xa and xb this car could be easily brought to market and easily sold undercutting ALOT of mfgs. espicially if BMW goes for a 1 series car that theyve been talking about for awhile.

sedan form would make this car the most viable i think as far as market strategy. okay now laugh at my idea if you want.

 

man i atleast wanted somebody to make fun of me on this! Is it the hasselhoff avatar? Do his ever watching eyes pierce even your souls?

if so i'll change the hasselhoff

 

Not a bad idea... a 2.0L NA engine with RWD, cloth and just the "basics".... but Lexus would never allow the car to be diluted. The look would have to be changed to differentiate it between the IS300. It is a good platform to start with... I think that it could be done!

Darren

 

oh i completely agree the two cars next to each other would certainly have to be very different. Honestly as much i have always really liked the altezza since i first saw it when i was in japan ive always thought the design too busy. lets face it the could make the scion version EXTREMELY simple and people would line up for it (see xB) i think the retooling would be worth it.

 

when i went to the scion launch for oklahoma dealers i was told by our rep. from gst (gulf states toyota, the ditributor in the south) that they were dropping the celica gts engine in the corolla, 6 speed tranny and all.

 

Count me in too! Every serious performance automobile is RWD: Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, MB, etc. Screw torque-steer in favor of drift.

 

I voted "Yes" but not for "drifting". I have never understood why someone would want to corner SLOWLY!!!! The fastest way around a corner is with RWD and all tires on the edge of braking loose, not already loose!! I prefer REAL racing not just showing off.

There is NO sensation/RUSH like slaming a series of corners as close to perfect as possible, using all the avialable traction for braking/cornering/accelerating and every inch of avialable pavement to get it done. Especially when I'm coming up on a BMW that thinks he's being "sporty" on the corners. I own a BMW too and have owned 2 others in the past including a M5. Most people that own them have no concept of their cars capabilities, sad really..... Posers!!

Legal Disclaimer for you young and foolish: NEVER do this in traffic, you have the right to jeprodize your life but you have no right to jeprodise the other people on the highway. If you crash and die, don't expect sympathy from me... you made your choice, think of it as "Darwinism" in action. There is a huge difference between driving agressively and reckless!!! OK, I'm off my soapbox

ken

 

I think there's a time and place for everything... and although taking a corner "correctly" is faster, it's not always the most fun and exhilirating way! Taking a corner at the speeds professional, and high-level drifters are running nowadays (which is sometimes just about as fast as if one wasn't drifting the same corner) does give you a pretty nice rush, and there's no doubt that it requires a lot of skill and ability to do well. Riding with a friend who does both road racing, and drifting (he competed at the D1 event also), I've learned that there's fun to be had either way. Of course, drifting is slower, but then again, drifting isn't about speed. There's a time and place for everything... just like figure skating vs. speed skating. :)

 

SR20DET's are tight...but for drift a KA24E will do just fine. All beit you can do with 150HP, 250 would break grip alot easier.

Drift dream car:

1991 Nissan 240SX
KA24DE - Fmax Turbo Stage II
JIC FLT-A2
Cusco control arms
Whiteline bushings all around
ACT Stage III clutch to hammer traction real quick...

Well, I have a 1990 with H&R springs and AGX's struts....so im getting there... but with the addition of the xB to the family, she will be sent off...

Completely gutted interior, two seats and a dahs board. Corbeau 4 point bolt in harness and the aformentioned suspension. She breaks grip damn easily and I have had alot of fun with them.

As for Japan bringing back the RWD sports car, its already happened. No one said it would be cheap tho:

Pretty soon the market will level, the demand will be up and the Supra will return @ a much lower cost (heard of @ lower than 30k) Its a matter of time. Keep your eye on Mazda in particular as things are happening...

 

Drifting is cool but it is expensive tires aren't cheap.

 

I am sure that Scion has an AWD or a RWD car in the making. I heard somewhere that the tC was going to have the AWD system, but changed it after they started the vehicle.
It would be nice though if the tC was a RWD car. 2.4ltr motor with that much tq would be just right. On top of that, adding the TRD supercharger would be even better.