The Toyota Corolla isn't badass. Not naturally, anyway.
From the factory it could be considered to be conservative, boring, or (in our opinion) surprisingly fun and pleasant. But, never badass.
The thing with the Corolla, however, is that it's always had this curious relationship with modified-car culture where its cheap and reliable underpinnings make it a prime target for Cindarella-style drab to over-the-top fab makeovers within the community. This extends all the way back to the Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno models of the '70s and '80s, through to the Corollas of now. And Fredric Aasbø's Formula Drift beasts are among the most certifiably 'badass' of them all.
Aasbø has long drifted products made by Toyota and former sister-company Scion as part of a sponsored partnership between the pair. It's seen the Norwegian net numerous event wins and a Formula D title in 2015.
In recent years, Aasbø has moved away from the Toyota/Scion 86 platform — a natural fit for drifting — to, of all things, the Corolla 'iM' platform. He built the first of these cars in 2017, with a shiny new-gen Corolla following on in mid-2018.
Motorsport regulars would likely assume that the new Corolla was simply a re-skin of the previous car (a bit like 'Mad Mike' Whiddett's Mazda MX-5, which was reskinned from an NC-gen car to a current ND-gen car when the current shape first landed). But no, they're actually totally different cars, and the older of the two is now up for sale on Bring a Trailer.
"This 2017 Toyota Corolla iM was designed and built by Papadakis Racing," says the niche auction house.
"The car features a longitudinally mounted 2.7L turbo four sending power to the rear wheels through a G-Force 4-speed manual transmission and a carbon fiber driveshaft. Details of the build include 10.5:1 JE pistons, a BorgWarner turbocharger, AEM fuel injection, and a nitrous oxide system. The seam-welded chassis is equipped with custom RS-R suspension allowing for 65 degrees of steering angle.
"The seller estimates that the car has completed 200 laps over over a single season of competition. This Corolla iM Formula Drift car is offered with spare parts and wheels, records, and a California non-op registration in the seller’s name."
As per the headline, that turbocharged 2.7-litre four-cylinder engine is said to produce 1000hp (745kW) and 1150Nm, although it's said to be usable in a more mild 650hp (484kW) form when required. Redline sits at a shrill 9,000rpm. There's only four gears in the manual transmission, but that's all you need in a door-banging drift battle.
Being a full pro-spec Formula D drift car, the interior has been completely stripped out. A two-spoke Sparco steering wheel and tall hydraulically assisted hand-brake (less than two inches from the steering wheel for obvious reasons) are supported by Takata race seats and harnesses, a Papadakis Racing roll cage, and a fire-suppression system.
Bidding currently sits at US$46,100 with four days to go. That equates to NZ$67,450 — a bargain given the probable six-figure budget that would be required to replicate such a unique drift-car. You canview the full listing by clicking here.
