Famous New Zealand drifter Mike “Mad Mike” Whiddett has announced his new project. The athlete, who competes in Mazda cars, built a Mazda 787D to drive in a controlled drift – a prototype based on the racing Mazda 787B, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans marathon in 1991 and became the first Japanese-made winner in the history of the race and the only one to this day the car that won the marathon with a rotary engine. But the drift prototype received a completely unique engine.
The source of inspiration for the drifter was his acquaintance with the original Leman prototype, which prompted the pilot to build an unusual drift car.
The car’s chassis was built in Japan by Tra Kyoto, while the engine was designed and manufactured by New Zealand-based Pulse Performance Race Engineering. The engine has a unique 5-rotor configuration and a displacement of 3.3 liters.
The characteristics of the unit are not disclosed, but the 2.6-liter RB26M in the original Mazda 787B produced 900 horsepower. In addition, while the prototype for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was mid-engine, the Mazda 787D drift car is front-engine, like all Mike Whiddett’s cars.
A Group B rally car that has never been raced
