Gotta love it when car manufacturers go a little nuts with one-off projects. Hyundai has form here, having produced the i30N Time Attack racer and the mad-looking, mini monster truck style Veloster Grappler in the past few weeks. It has now blown both of those out of the water with the faintly ridiculous iMax N Drift Bus that you see above. Yep that’s right – drift bus.
Hyundai Australia is responsible for this excellent creation. What started life as a standard, eight-seat iMax people carrier (known as the i800 in the UK) has now been transformed into a one-off, track-only tyre shredder.
The transformation started with the removal of the standard 2.5-litre diesel engine, which was then replaced by a much more suitable 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 producing 402bhp and 554Nm of torque. Lovely.
The power is sent to the rear wheels – in the name of skids of course – and is transferred through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Plus, there’s a shouty new exhaust and N performance brakes, as well as the 19-inch wheels from the brilliant i30N.
Inside there’s apparently an N steering wheel and sports front seats, although those in the back will be sliding around on the standard benches. Check out that front splitter too. This iMax wants to be a proper race car when it grows up.
Hyundai also says that, with eight people on board, the iMax Drift Bus has perfect 50/50 weight distribution. Perfect for those office team-building sessions, no?
