Kia has taken the veils off the Kia Forte Drift Car at the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, which was developed in partnership with Red Bull.
The donor car for the project is the latest Forte in EX guise, but it loses the factory-fitted 2.0 litre naturally-aspirated engine for the Stinger GT‘s 3.3 litre twin-turbo V6 unit. Through some tricky engineering, the engine now sits longitudinally (as opposed to the Forte’s transverse origins), allowing power to be transferred to the rear axle for drifting.
The Forte Drift Car effectively becomes a 375-horsepower rear-wheel drive beast, complete with a custom intake manifold, six-speed sequential transmission, quick change rear differential and a hybrid drift/grip suspension. It also features a hydraulic rear hand brake, custom wide body aerodynamic kit and a roll cage.
Alongside the tyre-shredding Forte is the 2019 Kia Forte Federation, which has been outfitted with parts from leading aftermarket suppliers, including aggressive aerodynamic components by Air Design. This includes a rear deck spoiler, rear diffuser, side skirts, front lip spoiler and front air curtains, which all provide a stunning contrast for the Livid Lime paint scheme.
Elsewhere, there’s a cold air intake by K&N coupled with an axle-back performance exhaust by Borla to make this Forte scream. It rides on progressive-rate sport springs by Eibach, 19-inch “Mosport” wheels by TSW and ultra-high-performance tyres by Falken to improve handling. All of the parts will be available for purchase from the respective suppliers at a later date.
GALLERY: Kia Forte Drift Car
GALLERY: 2019 Kia Forte Federation
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