Nissan Skyline R32: 1,400kg of problem you chose on purpose
The R32 GT-R got the "Godzilla" nickname by destroying everything in Japanese touring car racing, and it wasn't subtle about it. Under the hood sits the RB26DETT — a twin-turbo inline-six rated at 280hp by a gentleman's agreement that fooled exactly nobody. Real output was closer to 330hp stock. Nissan also gave it ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive, which is great for grip racing and terrible for getting sideways. So the drift community did what it always does: ripped the AWD out and made the car do something it was never designed for. The result is one of the most capable drift platforms ever built — if you can get past the weight. And the weight is real. This is not an S-chassis. You will feel every kilogram.
Converting the grip car
The R32 GT-R's AWD system needs to go before any serious drift build starts. The conversion is straightforward but not optional: pull the front driveshafts, weld or lock the center differential, drop in a 2-way mechanical LSD out back. Now you have a rear-drive car with an overbuilt chassis and an engine that doesn't know the meaning of "enough." Most builds land on coilovers around 12-14kg front and 10-12kg rear, with steering angle kits pushing 60+ degrees of lock — because the stock steering geometry was designed for a car that had four driven wheels pulling it through corners, not two spinning ones hanging out the side. A basic drift setup with a turbo upgrade, fuel system work, and a standalone ECU (Haltech and Link are the popular choices) puts you in the 500-600hp range without breaking a sweat. That's the entry point. The ceiling is somewhere past 1,000hp if you're running Garrett GTX turbos and have stopped counting receipts.
Who actually drifts these
Daigo Saito, Fredric Aasbo, Mad Mike Whiddett — all of them have run R32-based builds at the top level in Formula Drift and D1GP. At that point you're looking at tube-framed cars pushing four-digit horsepower numbers, which is less "modified R32" and more "R32-shaped race car." But that's the thing about this platform: the RB26 block holds power that most engines can't dream of, and three decades of aftermarket support means every part you could want already exists. The chassis takes abuse. The engine scales.
What it costs to get in
If you can't afford the GT-R (and at six figures for clean examples, that's most people), the GTS-t gives you the same body with an RB20DET — less power, same character, and a price tag that still leaves room for a turbo upgrade and a set of coilovers.