Tanner Foust is a talented driver who, at the US at least, needs no introduction. However, for enthusiasts that aren’t up to speed on all of the Top Gear USA host’s accolades, Foust is a three-time Global Rallycross champion, has won four gold medals in the X Games, and a two-time Formula Drift champion. Clearly, Foust knows how to pilot a high-powered machine and brought his most recent drift-prepped Volkswagen Passat to TheHoonigans to have some fun.
When Foust returned to Formula Drift in 2015 after a five year hiatus, he did so with a radical, fully-built Volkswagen Passat. The stock Passat is obviously a terrible drift car, as its front-wheel-drive layout and elongated body aren’t the ideal underpinnings for a dedicated drift vehicle, but Foust and his crew managed to find a way to make it work.
With an LS7 V8 that’s cranking out 900 horsepower thanks to a nitrous kit shoehorned into the hood, rear-wheel drive, a four-speed dog box and a Tilton clutch, the Passat doesn’t have a problem creating clouds of tire smoke. Plus, it sounds like an absolute beast thanks to an eight-into-one exhaust system.
Foust has major plans in store for the Passat, which includes adding some rear seats and turning it into a drift taxi. If a V8-powered Passat drift car sounds unusual, a 900-hp taxi that drifts everywhere with the skilled driver at its helm will make its passengers hang on for dear life.
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