Known as the “Red Devil” in Greek motorsport circles, this little Starlet shows just how much performance can be squeezed out of the diminutive, inconspicuous hatchback. Antoniou Nikos’ little Toyota is stripped to a featherweight 1700 pounds and stiffened with a comprehensive rollcage. It also boasts 400 horsepower and is known to be a very competitive drift car, having won several Greek drifting events. Nikos is not a professional driver, but an electrician with a passion for automobiles, and spends a good deal of his spare time tuning and driving his little Starlet. It shows.

His drifting style could not be described as busy nor aggressive. Instead, Nikos pulls his handbrake calmly and carefully, almost looking sleepy behind the wheel. From the outside, his slides look predictably smooth and almost elegant, feinting one way and then the other without tank slapping. Making the display all the more impressive is his control of the peaky, force-fed, firespitting motor. Listening to way the exhaust note changes at high revs says all that needs to be said about the 4AG’s lightswitch-power delivery.

Keeping this Starlet’s little turbo motor lit is a challenge in itself.

This occasionally catches Nikos out, forcing him to clutch kick several times to bring the revs up in the slower corners. Having a closely-stacked set of gears makes driving a bit simpler, but in reality, managing to keep the tires spinning without actually spinning out is a serious accomplishment. After all, the Starlet’s wheelbase is only 90 inches long; slower reactions would see this car pirouetting like a ballet dancer.

Nikos’ car is just one example of the KP61 that has been modified for motorsport. With such ideal proportions, great interchangeability of parts and a very low weight, the Starlet is a great platform for tuning, as we’ll explore further with our upcoming Fringe Players article. Though the “Red Devil” spends most of its days burning tires, we will learn in the coming month that drifting is only one of the many abilities of Toyota’s little cult hatchback.