This vehicle can do some surprising things for what little power it has...
The build team at Hoonigan has made a reputation for themselves as the creators of some of the world's craziest custom cars. Everything from 1,400 horsepower Mustangs to a 632 ci big-block third-generation Camaro has seen the shop's floor. However, once in a while, the crew will see something that blows them away in one way or another, whether for its performance, style, or competitive driver. This particular vehicle seems to be one of those vehicles as it combines two cars whose names serve as living legends within the automotive industry. So what is this incredible vehicle that stunned the Hoonigan team with its tasteful design and engineering?
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Initially, this vehicle was a humble Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck which would have been a fun little truck to take around the canyons. Under the hood used to sit a diesel engine, but the owner had bigger plans for the tiny towing titan. Nowadays, this vehicle is sporting a 1.8-liter inline-four with 150-ish horsepower which had initially come in a Miata and now serves as the powerhouse for this drift build. As a result, this small pickup truck has been transformed into a sliding champion controlled by the driver as he skillfully whips it around the Hoonigan burn yard. It may seem easy to slap such a small engine into an even smaller truck and call things a wrap, but the powerplant is far from this truck's only thing in common with its Mazda counterpart.
According to the builder, the entire subframe is also from a Miata, the shock towers, suspension setup, and virtually anything else you could imagine. Essentially, this was a Miata frame that he melded with a Rabbit shell to create one of the industry's most unique projects. Another note-worthy modification is the full roll bar which even spans the length of the bed and creates a "work-truck" aesthetic. This vehicle clearly took a ton of effort to develop, and it shows every bit of dedication with each change of the gears.
