New Zealand drifting icon Mike Whiddett, known as Mad Mike, is taking on what he describes as his most ambitious project yet — turning an historic Formula 1 car into a fully-fledged drift machine.
Whiddett and his team have set out to convert a Leyton House March 87P Formula 1 car into a drift vehicle, complete with a turbocharged rotary engine expected to produce around 1000 horsepower.
The project, dubbed FORM1DABUL, would create the first Formula 1 drift car in the world.
"This is by far going to be the most challenging thing we're about to turn into a drift car," Whiddett said.
"We've done stuff from MX5's, to go karts and McLarens, but this is really going to be a challenge for me and the boys."
The 1987 March 87P had an unusual history. Originally developed from a Formula 3000 chassis after its intended successor wasn't ready, the car failed to start the 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix due to engine problems and never went on to race in Formula 1.
Its conversion was now underway at Whiddett's Hampton Downs workshop, where engineers were redesigning the chassis, drivetrain and steering to cope with the demands of drifting.
Whiddett said the project, inspired from his love of 80s and 90s-era racing, had been a long time in the making.
"It's been around 10 years since we first got that email back saying it would probably be impossible," he said.
"So, to now be getting this delivery, it's actually quite scary to be honest."
For Whiddett, it marked the latest in a long line of outrageous rotary-powered vehicle projects
The 45-year-old's motorsport career began in motorcross before he took up drifting in 2007, later becoming the first Mazda driver to win the Formula Drift Japan championship in 2018.
He had since built a stable of extreme rotary-powered machines, including the 1200 horsepower RADBUL MX-5, the NIMBUL Lamborghini Huracan, and the MADAZ, a 787B-inspired Mazda prototype dubbed the 787D.
In 2024, Whiddett unveiled a rotary-swapped, 1000 horsepower McLaren drift hypercar named MADMAC, saying at the time he "hoped Bruce McLaren would be proud" of the creation.
His newest build would be documented as a part of a six-part YouTube series, following the car's complete transformation.
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