Hayden Patton’s WRC-spec Hyundai is something straight out of a motorsports junkie’s dreams. With over 600 horsepower provided by a laggy, turbocharged 1.8-liter motor, there’s plenty of pizazz with the way this little i20 produces power. However, it’s more than just popping and banging—this car has power and the man driving it has cojones large enough to maneuver it through some fairly narrow passes at the Ashley Forest Rallysprint in New Zealand.

Patton, a thirty-year-old New Zealander, started his career karting almost twenty-five years ago, and has since made quite a name for himself in the international rallying scene. The five-time NZ Rally Champion became FIA Production Car World Rally Champion in 2011. In the same year, he picked up his first WRC points in Argentina, and though he’s suffered some problems regarding employment in recent months, he’s still considered a force to be reckoned with.

Photo credit: Hayden Patton

Between pumps of the sequential gearbox’s shift knob and rapid steering corrections, Patton flings his minuscule Hyundai between the trees with frightening angles of oversteer. Of course, he does this all with the poise and precision you’d expect from a rally champion, but even compared to some of the greater loose surface drivers out there, he’s able to make it look easy.

Smooth transitions, the occasional flick of the wheel to pitch the car into the slide, and relaxed steering inputs are Patton’s hallmark, and with this consummate ability, he can wring the neck of his little Hyundai while still looking composed and almost balletic. It takes a rare combination of qualities to drive as well as he does—and with his talent, he should be able to find another seat soon.