Generation Drift: Five things we have learned

Cars Culture

No marketing agency dreamt up Generation Drift

Drift culture was born on the high, twisty pass roads of Japan.

The scene was particularly popular in the highly populated central strip of the country between Tokyo and Nagano. It was generated and nurtured Hashiriya – the mostly young, amateur street racers who began to rule the Japanese roads in the 1980s. Their drifty racing style developed precisely because of the switchback turns that comprise these pass roads. The cars were simply modified, accessible hot everyman motors. At the top of the list was, of course, the Toyota AE86, but everything from Celicas, MR2s, Silvias, Skylines and Z-cars could regularly be scene on the touges as they are known. These street races have become the foundation myth of the global drift scene. Though Drifting has become a much wider, more legitimate sport – it tips its hat to its street racing roots.