There is nothing I respect more in a car builder than an unwavering dedication to their own vision. Despite starting down a long and expensive road, they’re unwilling to compromise that vision and put in unimaginable effort in ensuring it’s fulfilled. That’s what has impressed me most with Drake Bianski’s FD3S RX-7. He has fulfilled his vision of what he wanted it to be.

Drake is no stranger to building drift cars. As one of the founding members of Team Breaking, he has been doing it for years, but this is his first foray into the rotary world. Prior to this he was most well-known for doing sideways things in a turbocharged Miata.

Originally a RHD shell, Drake has spent the better part of 5 years turning it into what you see today. The exterior is striking mix of aero. From a rare Foresight front bumper, Sexy Style side skirts, and RE Amemiya rear fenders to one-off front fenders and hood.

Despite the fact that this is a well-used drift car, most of the aero you see has been heavily modified, which means when he explodes something, Drake can’t order a replacement and just slap it on. So, the fact that he has years of experience in the composites industry definitely comes in handy. The front fenders are originally aftermarket FRP units, but the big flare you see, that fits over the tire just-right, was an addition he made himself. You might also notice that the side markers are from a Series-2 SE3P RX-8. Those wheels, by the way, are Enkei RS05RR running 18x10 +22 in the rear and 18x9.5 +22 in the front.

You may feel like something is missing in the rear, and you’re right. Drake has an RE Amemiya style rear diffuser that mounts under the factory rear bumper, but it wasn’t installed when I took these photos. I’m a big fan of his decision to go with a genuine Mazdaspeed rear spoiler. Oh, and those fancy taillights are from Fancy Logic.

As it should, this thing sits pretty low on a set of custom valved Stance coilovers from Touge Factory with 16kg/mm spring rates in the front and rear. However, drifting a car this low can cause some serious alignment issues. To keep everything in check, and easy to steer, the footwork has been completely overhauled with Parts Shop Max “Limit Break” upper arms, lower arms, knuckles, and tie rods.

Yeah, I know. Wow. One of the most important things to me when I build a car is an engine room that looks as good, if not better, than the exterior, and Drake nailed it. You’re looking a lot of high-tech and a ton of custom work.

Let me take a couple deep breaths before I rattle all these specs off… The turbo is a GTX3582R with a Tial .102 hotside controlled by a Tial 44mm wastegate. The intercooler core is from Vibrant and the end-tanks and piping were custom fabricated and welded by Mike Fieock (@MFDrift). The radiator is a custom triple-pass unit, with more custom fabricated piping.

The 13B-REW itself was built using RA Super Seals and Turblown tension bolts. Fuel is supplied by a Walbro 450 pump, and fed into the motor via Bosch 1,000cc primary and 2,000cc secondary injectors. The engine is controlled by a Link Storm-X ECU. All this adds up to 400HP at only 1 bar of boost. I’d be remiss to not mention the driveline, which includes a transmission housing a PAR straight-cut gearset, Cusco 2-way LSD and Banzai Racing diff and mission mounts.

On the inside you’ll find a Cusco 13-point roll cage, Lesmo XL full bucket seat, Nardi 330mm wheel, RE Amemiya shift knob (heavy as shit), IQ3 Street digital dash, Takata harness, etc.. The door cards are custom wrapped in Suede by Drake himself.

Nearly half a decade and thousands of hours of work have gone into this RX-7 and it certainly shows. Drake has without-a-doubt built one of the coolest FDs in North America. The fact that he drifts the piss out of it only makes it better. You can follow Drakes adventures at @dra3king on Instagram.