This 1,300-HP Nissan Altima Drift Car Rocks a 3D-Printed Widebody

When something doesn’t exist, 3D-print it.

byRob Stumpf|
Aftermarket photo
Share

0

Drifting is one of the most expressive forms of motorsports. From grassroots efforts where regional amateurs gather with their daily drivers all the way up to Formula Drift, it's always a blast to watch the unique mix of cars and personalities send it around a track. And speaking of uniqueness, this Altima's originality has been amplified courtesy of 3D printing.

With the help of additive manufacturing, self-taught Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg is getting even more creative with his GT-R-powered Nissan Altima build.

Forsberg mocks up the 3D printed over-fenders., via Chris Forsberg

Forsberg has been working on one of the coolest drift cars since Ryan Tuerck's V8 Ferrari-powered Toyota GT-4586, and it surprisingly started with a Nissan Altima. The DTM-inspired, 1,300-horsepower tire shredder (affectionately coined "Altimaniac") is a creation that took the wide-and-low appearance of the European touring car series and threw it right in the fire that is Formula D.

In order to create something so unique, Forsberg turned to Tekk Consulting, an engineering firm that crafts unique designs and solutions for various auto industry applications—everything from EVs to race cars and trophy trucks. Tekk Consulting visited Forsberg's shop to 3D scan all of the car's components, including the vehicle body and the supercar-sourced VR38DETT engine. The firm then digitally worked up an entire tube chassis design from the scans and sent the CAD package to fabricator and drifter Rob Parson who cut the necessary pieces before shipping it to Forsberg's shop for assembly.

The scans of the Altima's body allowed for Tekk Consulting to create DTM-inspired cues for the car, including fender arches raised above the headlight line and gigantic rear over-fenders to complete the signature look. These pieces were 3D printed and then prepped for application by Forsberg's team.

Video thumbnail

This isn't the first time we've seen 3D printing used to create body parts for cars, and it certainly won't be the last. In fact, 3D printing is becoming a new addition to garages across the world and has proven to be a useful tool to engineer out-of-the-box solutions. Even automakers have turned to additive manufacturing to rapidly develop and test parts.

The tech is here to stay, and watching big names in motorsport like Chris Forsberg adopt it is pretty rad.

Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: Rob@thedrive.com

stripe
AftermarketBuildsCar TechCultureNews by BrandNissan News