Chelsea DeNofa, the current champion of the U.S. Formula Drift championship, decided to have some fun with a Porsche 718 Cayman he bought. Using a mid-engine sports car for long controlled slides is tricky at best, but we are genuinely impressed with the results.
To combat the suboptimal weight distribution, DeNofa introduced a few relatively simple suspension mods. He replaced the control arms to allow for better roll center adjustment and replaced the standard rubber bushings with rod-end bearings. He also reinforced the clutch and the gearbox to withstand the loads associated with drifting and welded in a new differential.
For the stock Cayman with its 350-PS (345-hp / 257-kW) engine, these measures might have been overkill. DeNofa’s build already has 400 horsepower and is on its way to being upgraded to 600 PS (592 hp / 441 kW), so the reinforcements make perfect sense. The car already packs a performance exhaust system and should be receiving an upgrade turbocharger soon. Among other things, DeNofa considers replacing the compact twin radiators at the front with a single, larger unit that he would be able to mount farther in so as to avoid damaging it.
The interior stays stock except for a roll cage, bucket seats with safety harnesses and the mandatory hydraulic brake. This isn’t a Formula Drift-compliant build, but just take a look at the short video to see what it is capable of. You will be surprised.
