Facebook Marketplace is a treasure trove of endless wonder for car freaks such as myself. Normal sports cars don’t really do it for me anymore, but something like this rear-wheel drive, 2JZ-swapped Prius? Yeah, I can get on board with this.
A friend alerted me to this specific listing, as I don’t normally browse Marketplace areas several thousand miles from my current location. But after a brief perusal through the photos, I’m considering hopping on a plane. What we have here isn’t quite a sleeper—the busted up bodywork, Ronal Teddy Bear wheels, and suspiciously wide front stance give it away—but something more engaging: a properly built drift car.
Though front-wheel drive drift cars definitely exist, this one’s been treated to a fairly extensive rear-drive conversion. The description mentions Tech Toy Tuning lower control arms for the front suspension, though, considering the company doesn’t make products that fit the Prius, there are likely custom suspension mounts and a new subframe to hold up the now longitudinal engine. I messaged the seller for more details, and I’ll be sure to update this post when I hear back.
The rear suspension, meanwhile, has been totally overhauled. In fact, it looks as if the entire floor of the rear trunk (and everything underneath) has been cut out and replaced with new parts. There’s a good ol’ Ford 8.8 live axle in place of the factory torsion beam setup, complete with a welded differential for optimal sideways action. Holding everything up is a set of “Chevy truck” shocks.
Source: Facebook
Naturally, this second-gen Prius has had its dinky 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder, electric motor, and battery pack removed in favor of a more exciting Toyota engine, the famed 2JZ. This one was lifted from a low-mileage GS, according to the seller. Interestingly, they’ve decided to keep it naturally aspirated—not a terrible idea considering the hard lives of most drift cars. And the Prius is a small vehicle, so it’s not like it needs a lot of power to get sideways.
Considering what’s going on underneath the body of this Prius, the interior is surprisingly complete. The center screen, digital speedometer, and HVAC controls are gone, but the dash and doorcards are still present. The four-spoke steering wheel and its giant airbag have been removed, with a dished aftermarket unit wearing purple accents in its place. The front part of the center console is also gone, making room for a shifter to control the five-speed manual. There are buckets from DND Performance up front, and thankfully, the rear bench has been retained. Drifting’s always better with an audience on board, after all.
Source: Facebook
Reliability is always a concern with custom builds like these, though the seller is confident this Prius will have no problem running throughout an event without issue. From the description:
I leave it running all day in between sets, with the longest runtime being around 16 hours and 30+ gallons of gas. It’s been reliable and made reasonable to fix in the event of an issue.
The $15,000 asking price is about on par for what you’d have to pay for a sorted, entry-level drift machine. But I’d consider this a deal, seeing as how you’ll also be the most riveting entrant at any local drift event you attend. And if you’re really on a budget, you can sell those Teddy Bears for top dollar on the secondhand market. Might I suggest Facebook Marketplace?
Top Photo: Facebook
$15K is about half the price of a Gen 5 Prius XLE. That Frankenmobile sounds like a gigantic kludge (and I’m being nice).
Wow! I mean, if someone’ll pay $15,000 for this, then good on the seller for asking it. But OMFG no. way. ever. Never!
Man, Ronal Bear has been my go-to answer for every single rim choice question anyone has ever asked me since I first discovered them in 1993 in a 17-page ad for TireRack in the back a Car & Driver.
You know, the one right between the Lingerie of the Month Club and the Male Performance enhancers. Oh, and Mike Valentine giving me that smug side-eye to sell me a radar detector. RIP, Mike.
“What a piece of junk!”
“She’ll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid.”
Are those 4×100 wheels? Because I would buy another Miata just to add them.
I finally saw a set of teddy bears a couple of years ago, and it was on a Miata.
Just came here to talk about those awesome wheels. I mean, who doesn’t love a teddy bear. Porsche needs to make those a factory option.
Those aren’t genuine Ronal URS wheels – they’re probably the modern copy by Felgenworks. Ronal still make the URS too, but they have a different lip style to the ’80s originals.
The originals are called URS for ‘ursine’, which means ‘relating to bears’ and comes from the Latin word for bear.
If I found a set of Ronal Bears, I’d sneak them onto my partner’s Prius without telling her.
I low key want those bear wheels. I don’t know what I’d put them on but they’re super weird.
I remember when those were a common sight on New Beetles and Neons.
I know they don’t have them in the right bolt pattern but seeing them on my 4Runner would make me smile lol
On a New Beetle, I’d have to go with Mille Miglia daisies, but these would’ve been cute as heck on a Neon.
I know exactly what I’d put them on – well, a set in 4×100, anyway.
They would look great on a Miata. I think that’s the only car I’ve ever seen them on in real life.
I saw a Miata locally on them a few months ago and it blew my mind. I haven’t seen a set of those in 30 years.
This is cool?
And a deal at 15K?
LMFAO!
I never expected this thought to ever enter my head, and now it’s going to keep me up tonight:
Why did he ruin that Prius?
Because a prius drift car on teddy bears is awesome.
It is. I love / hate it so much that I’m going to have to consult a shaman about it.
Good shaman can work miracles
Not the weirdest Prius swap I’ve seen. I drove this. It was horrible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn471lUTMs4
By “horrible” you mean “incredible,” right? right???