As it's the last Fast & Furious movie that solely focused on car culture and street racing, Tokyo Drift is considered one of the best movies of the franchise by the global society of car geeks. But seriously, the movie brought a new and refreshing outlook on the Japanese street racing and drift culture, and it's probably the single best movie about drifting you can watch.
In the filming of Tokyo Drift, more than 200 different cars were used from around the globe. The best part is, most of these cars are iconic JDMs and tuners that could really do some damage in a real-world drift race. So today, we list every true drift car featured in the movie. Enjoy!
10 Nissan 350Z
Before Tokyo Drift came out, the 350Z was awesome, but today it's nothing short of an icon. However, the car you see driven by the movie's main protagonist Takashi (Brian Lee), is nowhere near stock. It features a body-rework by a renowned Japanese tuner shop VeilSide, which includes custom side skirts, fenders, both bumpers, and of course the massive rear wing.
And this one may very well be as competent as it's shown in the movie, considering how well-made and balanced 350Zs are for drifting. More so considering it's fitted with a 3.5L V6 churning out 460 horsepower, which is 200 more than it had when came from the Nissan factory. Those extra ponies translate to a sub 5-second 60-mph dash and a top speed of over 155 mph.
9 MAZDA RX-7 VEILSIDE FD
The Mazda RX-7 driven by Han (Sung Kang) is arguably the most striking car in the entire movie. In part by the amazing drift scenes around Tokyo, but mostly due to the beautiful custom body kit by Japanese tuner shop VeilSide. Hailing from the golden era of JDM cars, this '97 RX-7 packs the most iconic example of a Wankel rotary engine ever constructed. Turbocharged to produce 280 horsepower, the engine will launch this JDM masterpiece to 60 in less than 6 seconds. And you can be sure that the drifts you see this car doing in the movie are no stretch.
8 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R32 TOKYO DRIFT
The R32 enjoyed a brief cameo appearance in Tokyo Drift as the designated car for Reiko (Keiko Kitagawa) - a secondary female character who helped Sean rebuild his car. Volkswagen apparently offered 4 of these to be featured in the movie, two of which were converted to rear-drive for drifting scenes. We never got to see much of the cars, but we do know the R32 packs a decent 3.2L VR6 producing 250 horsepower, which is more than enough to make it an exciting little drift car.
7 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
This bright red Evo was used by Sean as he practiced to master drifting guided by Han. However, the car you see was specially modified for the movie and transformed from an AWD to rear-wheel drive for optimal drifts. That's not the only change though, as the Evo also received a significant power boost to its 2-liter MIVEC engine, now producing a decent 286 horsepower. The Evo's top speed remains electronically limited to the factory 155-mph, though it's extremely quick and agile, being able to launch to 60 in under 5 seconds.
6 MAZDA RX-8
Only 1.3L in the engine and 228 horsepower to give, that's what you call generosity. It will do 60 in just under 6 seconds. And it all comes courtesy of a Wenkel rotary engine, like the one used in its big brother RX-7, only smaller. Haters can call it disappointing and a girl car all they want, but the RX-8 is actually a beautiful and well-rounded entry-level sports car. And with the right tweaks, it can really do wonders in a drift race. We see a bright-blue tuned version driven by Neela (Nathalie Kelley), complete with a badass VeilSide body kit and a massive carbon fiber spoiler at the back.
5 Nissan Skyline GT-R R33
We see this Skyline make a brief but memorable appearance, driven by two girls who end up giving Han their numbers after what has to be one of cinema's coolest pickup techniques. It's the one where Han drifts around the girls' car and then extends his hand out the window to pick up their phone numbers as he drives off.
As for the car itself, it's a competent drifter with 280 horsepower under the hood, courtesy of a 2.6L inline-6 (the same one employed in the Silvia S15 Spec-R). Out the factory, these come electronically limited to 155 mph, but their engine allows for ridiculous power tweaks.
4 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-R
This poor car met an untimely end in Sean's first drift race against Takashi. There's a reason Twinkie calls it the "Mona Lisa," as the already iconic Silvia was tuned to whole new levels of badass in the movie. Even without any modifications, the Silvia is fully ready for drifting, though this one features a 2.6L, 280-horsepower RB26DETT engine straight out of the Skyline GT-R - an immensely tuner-friendly engine that can be tweaked to produce ridiculous horsepower numbers.
3 Nissan 180SX S13
Another minor car in the movie, the 180SX is a famous JDM car that comes from the Nissan's S-lineage, revered for their supreme drift-friendly weight balance and power-to-weight ratio. Though not as powerful as the 2.4L 240SX, the 1.8L 180SX were still such popular drift cars that they are now experiencing sharp rises in prices, often referred to as the "drift tax." This particular car develops 158 horsepower stock and comes up to a top speed of about 145 mph.
2 Toyota Chaser X100
We see this custom yellow '96 Chaser make a brief cameo in the movie. The X100 signifies the car belongs to the last generation of Chasers. There's no telling what kind of power hides under the hood of this car, though. But if we assume the best, it has either a 2.5L 2JZ-GTE or a 3.0L 2JZ-GE (the same one used in a Supra) with a tuning potential that's almost boundless. And because of its ideal rear-wheel drive powertrain featuring the legendary 2JZ engine, the Chaser would absolutely shine in drift races.
1 Veilside Honda NSX
To a JDM fan, there really aren't many cars as beautiful and captivating as the classic, 1991 Honda NSX wearing a VeilSide body kit. We're just sorry the car didn't get as much screen time in the movie as it should have. Similarly to its '90s JDM counterparts, the NSX was produced under the Gentlemen's Agreement, restricting Japanese car manufacturers from exceeding 300 horsepower. The 3.0L V6 shoved inside hence produces 270 horses for the 5-speed manual transmission option, and properly tuned, it would be more than capable to rip the asphalt apart in a drift race.