Juice World Crash the Car Again God Damn

Tell No One

In this day and age information technology's pretty hard to proceed a hole-and-corner.

Forget rumours whispered past oral fissure, or even news leaked to journalistic outlets – the reality is that everybody is now a broadcaster and publisher all rolled into one. Smartphones facilitate united states of america to reach a gigantic audience with the tap of an LCD screen. It'south that piece of cake.

And so when you're building a machine that you don't want the world to know most, you take to be very careful who yous tell and bear witness during the procedure. Especially when you're HGK Motorsport in Riga, Latvia.

If you don't know much nigh HGK Motorsport (where have you been?) or haven't read Paddy'south shop visit from last year, I suggest you head off and do and then now. It sets the scene pretty well for the type of car that HGK likes to stamp its name on.

Upwards to speed? Expert.

I'd heard tales of a motorcar locked abroad from view at the HGK workshop, safe from prying eyes, but no-1 could really tell me much about information technology. Chinese whispers, tentative glimpses and best guesses were in abundance. In truth, during my visit to HGK'due south hometown for the Latvian Migrate GP last month, I almost forgot about the gossip. That was until my phone rang.

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to HGK's tame racing driver, Kristaps Blušs. He, together with race and design engineer and HGK co-founder Harijs, were in the U.s.a. for Formula Drift at Evergreen Speedway, but there was a automobile at HGK that he thought I might be interested in. Colour me intrigued.

HGK'south store director Valdis couldn't tell me much for fear of news getting out. It was a BMW, just that was almost it. He couldn't tell me who information technology was built for, where information technology was going or any specifications. Unfortunately, the motorcar wasn't quite completed, and wouldn't be before I flew back to England.

Fast forrard to a week later and I found myself on a last minute flight from Berlin, where I'd been shooting Drift Allstars Deutschland, to Riga, once more. I would exist in the land for merely four hours specifically for the shoot. HGK's latest masterpiece was ready, and nosotros only had that day to spare before information technology was loaded on the aeroplane and delivered to its new owner, MK Racing in Qatar.

No pressure then.

Beneath The Skin

HGK is in the business organisation of building BMW race cars. Its relationship with the E46 chassis is well documented, and, thanks to Kristap's rapid success with HGK CrocoFD in Formula D, the whole world knows it. This, however, is HGK's start time fettling with BMW's two Serial F22 chassis.

And boy, did they get it correct.

The first thing that strikes you virtually the Kevlar-clad exterior is just how menacing and aggressive this F22 is wearing HGK'due south new Eurofighter bodykit. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. I want to show you what'due south under the lightweight pare of this animal before nosotros settle on the aesthetics.

The aim was to build the ultimate 2 Serial for globe-trotting, so the brief was unproblematic. Information technology had to exist lightweight, reliable, powerful and capable of carrying out physics-defying things whilst sideways on a racetrack.

As with all HGK builds, chassis prep is at its heart. The F22 was stripped back to bare metal and the full chassis was stitch welded. The forepart and rear slam panels were removed and replaced with custom, removable crash bars, painted in an eye-grabbing shade of orangish. With the demands of competition drift layouts throughout the world now, solid rear clipping points take get the norm, so the power to easily remove, repair or replace the front and rear crash structures make the connected maintenance of the car much easier.

Within, HGK got to work fabricating a full roll-cage, built to Formula Drift specifications. I'm not sure if the automobile'southward new owner is planning on campaigning in the serial, only the car has been built with the rulebook in mind, if not for eligibility, then at least for the high safety standards FD demands. Wise move.

British suspension manufacturers Nitron supply the footwork on Kristap's FD car, and then it was called upon again to create custom-made 3-way adjustable coilovers for the F22. These are mated to the chassis via custom HGK's own CNC-machined, camber-adjustable top mounts at the front. Every unmarried component has had the highest possible level of care and attention poured into it. Wisefab supplied all the intermission arms, duke and components, assuasive for complete command and adaptability of every believable alignment parameter.

Stopping is handled courtesy of Wilwood half-dozen-piston calipers at the forepart wrapped around 11.75-inch Wilwood drilled rotors, and Wilwood 4-piston rear calipers with 12-inch discs. The brakes are mounted using CNC HGK aluminium centre bells and adaptors.

At the dorsum of the car a Merin FIA-canonical lightweight 40-litre fuel cell with internal lift pump system nestles in among the rear crash bar. An Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump does the work, and Aeromotive pre and mail fuel filters and fuel regulator go on things in bank check. The explosive dinosaur juice is added via a custom filler cervix in the boot opening, and carried forward via lightweight aluminium difficult lines coupled with aluminium fittings throughout.

The cooling system has also been relocated to the rear of the chassis, with a twin-core, dual-laissez passer radiator mounted beneath a custom opening in the rear window, providing optimum airflow through and out the rear of the car.

Of grade, all of this leads to feeding the powerplant residing underneath the Kevlar bonnet. The bulge should tell yous it's concealing something actually quite special…

Pinnacle

The engine of choice was a Mast Motorsports crate motor. Specifically, a RHS446 – once more, the same unit used in Kristap's Formula Migrate machine.

The aluminium race block is manufactured from heavy-duty A357-T6 aluminium by Racing Head Service in Memphis. Based on a GM LS unit of measurement, the race cake is and so paw-built by Mast to HGK's exacting specifications, utilising a Callies Magnum crank, Billet rods, Diamond Racing pistons, Total Seal Avant-garde Profiling steel rings, titanium intake valves, retainers and valve locks and 305cc LS7 heads. The motor is mounted to the F22 chassis using HGK CNC engine mounts that over again align with the Formula Drift rulebook.

The outcome? The engine dyno'd at 820hp at 7000rpm and summit torque of 920Nm. I can hear the drift 'purists' frantically great their keyboards in cloy from here, but this is the top of naturally aspirated race V8s. With 800Nm of torque available from but under 4000rpm, you can't contend or dispute the amount of engineering luminescence that has gone into this motor, fifty-fifty if information technology's not deemed to be 'cool'.

Air is fed in via the BMW'due south 'nostrils', through a big panel filter and channeled into the Holley EFI intake by a custom carbon/Kevlar intake system.

A Dailey dry out sump with air separator is mounted inside/under the cabin, covered past a carbon panel. HGK wanted a way for the owner to be able to check the oil quickly and easily, so it engineered a dipstick system, hands accessible behind the rider seat.

Gases are expelled through 48mm iv-to-ane stainless headers and out via a 89mm titanium exhaust .The sound is pure sensory assault. The F22 barks and growls with a cakewalk across the throttle and response is instantaneous. As Kristaps fired it up I couldn't help but laugh – it's ridiculous. The gargantuan dollops of power are delivered to the rear wheels thanks to a Samsonas 5-speed sequential transmission and Winters quick-modify differential.

Hateful Mug

Of grade. in drifting aesthetics are crucial, and the F22's outside has received an equal amount of TLC.

HGK's blueprint engineer Harijs, alongside Edijs from D1 Blueprint in Riga, designed and built this Kevlar bodykit in-house from scratch, comprising of front and rear bumpers, overfenders, lips and sideskirts and a rear wing. This particular build also features Kevlar fenders, doors, bonnet, boot and a carbon roof.

It's called 'HGK Eurofighter' and boy is information technology ambitious. I like the way that HGK has resisted going down the traditional 'drift' styling road of low-slung bodywork with large lower lips.

From the front end, the Eurofighter kit mixes the right level of aggression with an OEM-esque pattern that y'all could imagine BMW offering M2 owners every bit an optional actress.

The rear is more than race machine, with the half-height rear bumper showing a tentative up-skirt glance at the orange crash bar and bright carmine fuel cell.

The NASCAR-inspired rear wing is office carbon, part polycarbonate; I approximate y'all need to be able to see the wall you're about the scrape against, right?

As mentioned earlier, HGK didn't want parts of the motor haphazardly protruding into the exterior, so a custom bonnet was fabricated to accommodate that monster intake.

Forget cipher-ties, the exterior panels are held on by heavy-duty sprung fasteners and pins, ensuring that the posh Kevlar bodywork isn't unsettled past smaller knocks and bumps. These details are the upshot of HGK's x years of experience in building drift cars. You'll notice merely how thin the bodywork is too – it'south positively transparent!

All of this lovely carbon, Kevlar and weight saving ways ane thing – the F22 is seriously light for a chassis of its stature. Information technology tips the scales at just 1200kg (2645lb)!

Piece of work Wheels provided the rolling stock, the beautiful bronze CR-2Ps measuring eighteen×8.5-inch in the front end and 18×x-inch in the rear, wrapped in 235 and 265 profile rubber, respectively.

Within the cabin, 2 OMP seats keep the squishy organic thing in place, strapped down by TRS 6-point harnesses.

Strap into the driver's seat and an OMP cycle (and HGK bicycle cover, naturally) occupy your primary vision. Peer through and you're greeted past an AIM digital dash. Shut to hand is a HGK hydraulic handbrake mated to an AP Racing cylinder, alongside the Samsonas sequential shifter. At that place's lashings of carbon on brandish likewise. Whilst one-half of the carbon dash is flocked for its anti-glare backdrop, the residue of the weave is exposed for all to admire. A command panel offers access to the vital buttons.

Different nearly race cars, the driving position is completely adjustable. The floor-mounted Tilton pedal assembly can be repositioned, as can the custom steering column cheers to a HGK CNC adjustable mount. If you're a race car and/or engineering science geek, this sort of stuff should be incredibly pleasing.

There are many squeamish finishing touches as well, such equally the carbon floor plate on both driver and passenger sides. My experience of migrate cars is that they're usually pretty uncomfortable and unpleasant places to spend any amount of time. I make an exception here.

The lightweight window system that HGK has engineered is very clever and effective too; both windows and their carbon frames can exist removed completely in seconds with two small grub screws. Every little detail has been considered and Kristaps, Harijs and Valdis are visibly proud of what they've achieved.

With my return flight on my mind we bundled into the van and fabricated our fashion to the track to shoot some quick activeness shots of the auto.

Naturally, as part of the service, who better to test out HGK'due south new builds than Kristaps himself. With the workshop situated in the grounds of the brilliant Bikernieki Circuit in Riga, HGK has the platonic playground right on its doorstep.

The F22 looked to move effortlessly under each blip of the throttle, changing direction chop-chop, but in a controlled manner.

Kristaps was beaming from ear to ear.

I guess it feels very familiar to him, with much of the build beingness based on the success of his Formula Migrate motorcar, CrocoFD. Even so, he seemed very impressed. HGK is confident that MK Racing will be over the moon with the results.

With F22 now safely despatched to Qatar, HGK has its eyes attack repeating the achievements of this build and pushing the envelope even farther. The guys are working on an E92 'Eurofighter' as Kristap'due south next Formula D car.

Looking at their humble workshop in Latvia, information technology'due south crazy to think of the level of quality that the guys at HGK are capable of.

Even if you're a die-difficult anti-drift antagonist y'all should be able to capeesh this level of attention to particular and cease. Have a moment to enjoy this short video by talented Latvian filmmakers Robyworks.

It well-nigh seems too skillful to drift?

Jordan Butters
Instagram: driftagram / jordanbutters
Jordan Butters Photography

HGK Motorsport BMW F22 2 Series Eurofighter

Numbers:
Max Power: 820hp, Max Torque: 920Nm, Rev Limit: 8000rpm, Weight: 1200kg/2645lb

Chassis:
BMW F22 (2 Series coupe), Formula Migrate-spec cage, fully stitch-welded chassis, custom front/rear crash bars

Engine:
Mast Motorsports V8 RHS466, iv.155-inch bore, 4.250-inch stroke, 11.six:ane compression ratio, Callies Magnum crankshaft, Billet half-dozen.460-inch rods, HGK-spec Diamond pistons with Full Seal AP steel rings, H13 Tool steel wrist pins, Low Lash solid roller .757-inch lift, Crower solid roller lifters, PSI Max Life valve springs, Xceldyne titanium intake valves, valve spring retainers & valve locks, billet dual roller timing concatenation, Jesel rocker arms, 305cc LS7 heads, Dailey dry sump with air separator, 48mm 4-to-1 stainless headers, 89mm titanium exhaust, rear-mounted twin-cadre dual-pass radiator, electric h2o pump & auxiliary h2o pump, racing steering & engine oil radiators, Merin FIA-canonical 40L fuel cell with internal lift pump organisation, Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump, pre & post fuel filter & fuel regulator, lightweight aluminium fuel difficult lines with aluminium fittings, MoTeC M130 ECU, MoTeC PDM30 distribution module, WR-Tec mil-spec wiring harness

Drivetrain:
Samsonas v-speed sequential manual, Winters quick-change differential, The Driveshaft Shop driveshaft & pro-level axles

Steering/Suspension:
Nitron 3-mode adjustable forepart & rear coilovers, HGK CNC superlative mounts, front & rear Wisefab knuckles & artillery

Brakes:FWilwood half dozen-piston calipers with 11.75×ane.25-inch Wilwood rotors (front end), Wilwood 4-piston calipers with 12.0×0.35-inch drilled Wilwood rotors (rear), HGK CNC machined aluminum center bells & adapters, HGK hydrolic due east-brake westward/AP Racing cylinder

Wheels:
Work Wheels CR2P 18×8.v-inch (front) eighteen×10-inch (rear), 235/40R18 (front) 265/35R18 (rear) tyres

Exterior:
Complete carbon/Kevlar HGK Eurofighter bodykit, carbon roof, carbon/Kevlar doors, custom removeable front windows, Plastics 4 Performance polycarbonate anti-fog front & rear windows

Interior:
OMP seats, TRS vi-signal seat belts, OMP steering bicycle, part-flocked carbon fibre dash, AIM seven-inch color display, floor-mounted Tilton adjustable pedal associates, HGK CNC adjustable steering column

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