Japanese professional drifting driver Daigo Saito is the first driver to take home the title in both the D1 Grand Prix and Formula Drift series – winning the GP in 2008 and the Formula D event in 2012. Last year Saito competed in the Formula Drift series in America in a Lexus SC430, powered by a Toyota 2JZ engine. With two wins and seven podium finishes, Saito not only won the championship in FD but also the Rookie of the Year title in the hotly-contested series. 

That’s why this video is so interesting – not only is Saito not riding the rail at Ebisu in a Toyota – he’s doing it in a sweet Dodge Challenger. The Ebisu circuit was designed by drift driver Nobushige Kumakubo and is considered one of the premier drifting tracks in the world. And as the old saying goes, there’s nothing like V8 American horsepower, and it looks like Saito got a taste of it here in the States last year and decided to take some home with him.

This car used to be owned by Samuel Hubinette and raced here in FD competition. It features a 410 cubic-inch HEMI engine that makes nearly 900 horsepower – plenty to cook those tiny rear tires. Unfortunately we have heard that Saito already put the car into the wall, damaging it, but our understanding is that this car was only purchased as a stopgap measure until his new Viper is ready for GP competition. Regardless, there’s something about tire smoke and a big honkin’ American V8 rumbling away that just makes the day better, so enjoy a little bit of it. If you get real close to your monitor, you might even smell some.