Streets of Long Beach ‘22: P.4
Starting off part four with some drifting practice from the Top 32 who made it past qualifiers from Friday evening. I have to say it again, but I was in love with the colours and venue at Long Beach. I think this was a great location to host an event like this. The skies on this particular day was a clear as could be. I recall the weather cooperating for a majority of the morning but getting windy later on in the evening - either way, you really couldn’t complain about the day.
The most perfect blue skies. Not a single cloud.
The smoke of the burning tires making for a nice gradient into the skies.
The last clipping point of the track.
Rays display showing their newest model releases and colours.
If you’ve ever come by Speedfactor and wondered where those Rays branded hand fans came from, well now you know.
Advan booth and wheel display.
APR Performance had a really nice booth set up with the new Supra and Corvette.
New TRD Off-Road Tundra with Gram Light 57DR-X. This was the first redesigned Tundra I saw in person so it was a big deal to me back then.
Good.
This guy doing the double disrespect on both demo cars at the same time. I don’t know him though, so maybe he owns both cars, then it wouldn’t be illegal.
This Supra was tucked away into the one of the vendor stalls.
The owner opted to swap out the factory B58 engine in favour of a 2JZ…
Teams getting ready in the morning. Pictured is Simen Olsen Supra.
There was also a car show on the event grounds too. Varis widebody GRB Subaru WRX STi in yellow with gold TE’s looking quite sharp. This might be the first time I’ve seen this colour combo and I must say that I’m a big fan. This was put together very nicely.
I am a big sucker for the Evo 8/9s. I would like to own one someday. It’s just one of those cars that I simply love the look of. Something about pedestrian looking sedans… The interiors however have zero personality, but that would be a minor issue.
Porsche 997 with GT3 Cup aero and Advan TC4s.
Really diggin’ the colour on this STi.
RX7 lineup. Peep homie in the back carrying around two tires.
These twinning FD3S RX7s both looking extremely clean. I love the colour on both.
Another great colour combination and well flowing 240Z.
FRS sitting right on the ground.
This NSX also just laying frame. This colour way on the Meisters is winning.
Clean OE+ Kouki S14.
MR2 looking mean with chrome on black.
Bagged Model 3.
There was a whole squad from Liberty Walk which not surprisingly drew much attention. Liberty Walk 458 Italia.
Liberty Walk C8 Corvette.
My favourite from the group (cause Honda fan boy), this Liberty Walk NSX.
Interesting exhaust set up. Would this be considered a quad/triple/dual.5 set up?
Looking mean…
Rear end of this Liberty Walk Supra. I didn’t have the patience to wait for the crowd up front to pass along for a decent photo.
This Supra was incredibly wide. My photo does not do it justice.
This GTR rocking a chassis mounted wing and what looks like a custom built diffuser…
Awesome Toyota Starlet. Notice the miniature model also displayed as if it was in a show too. I thought that was a neat little thing. Kinda nerdy, but that’s my type of thing.
This was a wild Honda Civic build that had everything going on. This had stance, aero, and is also Kraftwerks supercharged.
Another wild build Civic - this one wearing Spoon Sports livery, although I’m not sure it necessarily follow the traditional Spoon “look”. Nonetheless, this also had a lot going on. Stance, widebody, I.C.E, aero.
This J’s Racing FK8 looking good. I’m digging the red/black theme throughout.
Gold Cosmis wheels providing a nice contrast to the blue paint on this 350Z.
Clean LS swap as well.
A simple and clean IS300 - If you know me, I’ve always wanted an IS300. I think if I didn’t have my Civic, I would either have this or an Evo 8/9.
Gram Lights new limited Sputter Blue colour on this overseas model 57DR. I like that the spoke sticker matches with the brake caliper.
Widebodies seem to be a popular mod for FK7s here.
I don’t know why I took a picture of this cause it spooks me. I also don’t understand why people like to have these cardboard cut-outs.
An Odyssey build that seems to also do it all. This one had a hitch mounted swing out with a spare and rotopax…
Also had the roof mounted tent. Stance meet overland.
Liberty walk Ferrari 308 with paint matched flares. I enjoyed how this one looked.
A widebody BMW M8. It’s not often you come across these cars as they’re quite rare already, so to see a modded one was a treat.
Track A90 Supra.
Red-bull A90 Supra on a set of Forged Niche Gamma.
New G80 BMW M3 in this very eye-catching BMW individual paint colour.
Not entirely sure which wide body kit this is on the NSX. Looks like a Sorcery widebody but I could be mistaken.
The iconic Supra from Fast and Furious (not the real one).
Vin Diesel (not the real one) brought it out!
The Sinister NSX looking incredible. I remember watching the Hoonigan feature of this car with Larry Chen. So cool to see it in person.
The GR Corolla debut. These two were so crowded for the majority of the day but I managed to capture these two during the finals where I snuck out due to how packed the stands were. The circuit edition pictured in Heavy Metal and the core edition in Supersonic Red.
That concludes my Formula Drift coverage. I hope to be able to attend another Formula Drift event again some day. I can say that the experience has turned me into a fan. Just like being at any live sporting event, the atmosphere is something that cannot be replicated by watching it on a screen. This was an incredible experience and I’m not sure when I’d be able to attend another Formula Drift event, but I hope it won’t be too far away in the future.
Thanks for reading!
