Hello Speedhunters, Darren McNamara here! It’s been quite a while since my last post on this site, but now I’m back with a bang.
Last time we spoke I was campaigning the Need For Speed D-Mac86 around Europe. They were fun times for sure, and I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to build my dream car. But in the back of my mind there has always been a drift-spec supercar that’s beyond comprehension – the sort of build that’s so unrealistic you see no way that it could ever happen.
Well unbelievably, the most amazing machine that I could only ever dream about building is actually going to be my next European drift car…
And here she is: the Audi Drift Sport D-Mac S1. You can keep your Lexus LFAs and Lamborghini Murciélagos, because this thing is going to destroy them all! Before people ask though, no, I am not doing Formula Drift this year…
What you’re looking at is a long-wheel base Ur-Quattro, converted to rear-wheel drive and powered by a 2.7-liter, dry sumped Audi 5-cylinder engine. There’s a TDi block and 20-valve head in the mix, plus a big Garrett turbocharger and a Haltech Elite Series engine management system. Power will be transmitted by an ACT clutch to a SAENZ 6-speed sequential gearbox. Flat shift, anti-lag – the works!
Mean isn’t it? I’ve been sitting on these concept images for quite a while, so it’s such a relief to finally be able to share them with everyone. The excitement has been hard to contain, and believe me when I say that it’s been equally hard to keep this project under wraps until now. As you can see, we are using a full Group B S1 E2 bodykit, and of course Work Wheels Japan will be supplying the rims. Mishimoto is on board too and bringing their cooling gear to the party.
In the rear we will be using a Nissan Silvia S14 modified subframe with D-Mac Control Arms all round, plus Driveshaft Shop axles.
Well, this is what the finished article should look like in its MCNSPORT team colours anyway, but we are a long way off from there right now, so let’s take a look at the beginnings of the project…
This is how the car sits right now at Stone Motorsport. Industry interest in this project has been very high, and once I told John Stone what I was going to do he wanted to be a part of it. John’s fab skills are well beyond mine, so he is going to take care of the major chassis fab before passing the car over to me for suspension and mechanical. Then it’ll go to West Coast Performance for tuning. So, three Irish companies working together to build one incredible machine.
My aim for the project was to keep things simple, using tried and tested methods and parts. With no real R&D required, testing and development time can be minimised, so I should be able to just go out there and enjoy my dream machine. That’s the reason the car will retain its original Ur-Quattro wheelbase, and not be shortened 11 inches like the S1 E2 rally car was.
The fact that I’m not going to shorten the chassis for the short wheelbase was hard to get my head around at the start, as that aspect always set the Sport Quattro apart. But I have come to accept it for the greater good of real-world competitiveness. The Sport Quattro wheelbase is just too short for rear-wheel drive.
So, this window opening will remain like this and people can admire John’s fab work much easier. To be honest, the long wheelbase will suit the car, as it will look much more like a Silhouette racer than a rally car. And it will sit so much lower than the rally car when it’s finished too, probably by as much as five or six inches.
The Right StuffSo let’s take a look in detail at some of the work already completed, starting from the front. Firstly, yes, that is a Nissan Silvia steering rack down there. Keeping it simple means using parts that are readily available and we know will work. That is the middle of a Silvia crossmember welded into the original Audi subframe. The Audi subframe has been notched, and where two drive shafts once ran there will now be tie rods.
The S14 rack has been placed in what I think will be the optimal position for the front geometry I’m after. The front suspension will require some fine tuning once I get it back to MCNSPORT, but I’m very lucky that once it’s all sorted I have KW 3-way coilovers to get the very most out of it.
Discussions go on for quite a while about all the changes needing to be made in the engine bay. Anyone who’s clued up on Audis will know that the engine sits out the front between the headlights, as back in the day it was the only way they could get drive to the front wheels. For weight distribution it absolutely sucks though, and it wasn’t going to fly for a rear-wheel drive drift car
Moving the steering rack to the subframe not only lets us use familiar parts, but it also allows us to remove the bulkhead-mounted Audi steering rack and get the engine right back to the firewall. This will improve our front-to-rear weight distribution no end. The bulkhead has been cut as far as the rules allow, and in the next update a dummy block should be mounted, which will give you an idea of how far back we’re able to position the engine. You can also see we have cut the chassis rails at the suspension’s forward most mounting points, and removed the hilarious Audi ones that in factory form go around the radiator mounted beside the engine.
Here I am explaining that this is where magic will happen, and that the human race peaked around circa mid-1986 – in my opinion. Anyway, Stone Motorsport is the new name for a company that used to be known as Gripfab. John has done a great job on previous cars of mine, and he’s the go-to man in Ireland when it comes to chassis fabrication. Obviously, the new Stone Motorsport sweaters and hats are at the printers, right John?
The suspension is going to be a challenge on this one, but I’ve managed to get my head around it. I will admit to taking long showers and have extra throne time, as these are the places where I do my best thinking.
I am very happy with the job the guys have done on the front pillars and gussets. I’ve always had a thing for drilled and swaged A-pillar gussets, and John had them fitted without me knowing – great minds and all that.
Here’s a closer look at Stone Motorsport’s handiwork. John and his team will be moving to larger premises soon, but his old workshop is where this car has been born. Big things have humble beginnings.
Sitting PrettyOkay, brace yourself people, things are about to get a bit weird…
Because it’s pedal assembly time! I have never really got the feeling right with a fancy twin master cylinder pedal assembly – perhaps because I’ve been unlucky, or maybe because I’m just not intelligent enough. But no matter what I or the people around me have done, I can never say I’ve actually liked those sort of setups. I much prefer going for a blast in my servo-assisted S13 with Skyline brakes. I have been told that I am much more of a finger tips and toes driver than a donkey, so maybe that explains it.
The Ur-Quattro is effectively like a front-wheel drive car, in the sense that the bulkhead is very far forward creating a large cabin space. So enter my friend, the S14 Silvia, to once again donate a complete pedal assembly that will mount inside the cabin under the dash (although I don’t think the finished car will actually have a dash). This will give me servo assist and the brake feel that I prefer, plus it will work the first time I push it, which is most important to me.
Now, we are not just mounting the pedals anywhere inside, just because it suits me. I have measured from the centre of the front wheels to the rear mounting bolt of the bucket seat on my Silvia, and have then replicated that measurement on the Audi exactly. So among other things, this gives me my pedal assembly position, which will ensure that the car feels ‘natural’ when I drive it.
By a fantastic stroke of luck, the Ur-Quattro also shares the exact same wheelbase as the S14 Silvia. This is the face of approval regarding that fact.
So all in all I think we are onto a winner here. We have made the right decisions moving forward and we get the added bonus of keeping the engine bay nice and clean and free of servo and cylinders. That’s handy, because the area where Audi positioned them from factory will soon be filled with a lovely Martelius ceramic-coated exhaust.
“Yes Mr. Röhrl, rear-wheel drive but with twice the power… This is good, yes?”
It wasn’t really Walter Röhrl on the phone, John….
I got this…
For the steering column I ordered a Sweet Manufacturing collapsible column with billet mounts. Despite being stupidly expensive, I absolutely love these things and it should make all the difference aesthetically when the interior is finished. We will bend a mounting bar off the dash bar of the cage to hold it, and I think it would be a real shame to cover it with a dash then. If we just make a bracket for the Haltech IQ3 digital display, we can keep things nice and simple.
Caged AnimalHere’s John is measuring for more tubes, so let’s check out the rest of his rollcage handiwork before moving on to cooling.
The centre hoop sits nicely behind the B-pillar and the floor has been gusseted. There’s also new suspension tops for the S13 KW rear coilovers.
I’m a huge fan of ‘V’s as opposed to an ‘X’s in cages, as the former just seems to end up looking so much better without gussets. There will be a harness bar and centre hoop diagonal added once we finalise the seat mounts, and also the pillar bars to main hoop will be triangulated.
Here’s a closer look at one of the new S13 suspension tops and a good close-up of John’s lovely welding.
Mishimoto have been a supporter of my efforts for a while now, and a project like this would not be possible without all the amazing companies who have come on board. We wanted to get as much mock-up work done as quickly as we could, and knowing that, Mishimoto got these parts out to me super fast. Thanks guys!
This radiator is huge! There are a couple of challenges we face with this car, and one of them is trying to prevent it being nose-heavy like the original Ur-Quattro. A large radiator radiator was required, but it’s going to be positioned as far back as possible for proper weight distribution.
It will also be tilted like so, for a couple of reasons. One is that drift cars need to be able to hit things with their rear corners, so tilting the radiator and keeping the rear of it forward should keep it out of harms way. At the beginning we will run the Group B rally style rear wing, and not the Pikes Peak style one that is in the render. Some of you may know that the Group B car had the radiator mounted vertically right up against the rear panel, so that the rally wing diverted half the air down through the trunk and half of it onto the wing. The Pikes Peak car had the air intake in the roof, so it didn’t use this diverter.
With such a rare engine powering the car, I am not going to take the chance that the air will stagnate in the rear and lead to any sort of cooling issue. By using the Group B wing to ram air down through the radiator, we shouldn’t have any problems.
Underneath the radiator will be one of my oh-so-sexy D-Mac Fuel Tanks available at MCNSPORT.com – a shameless plug, I know! We will use an ASNU Veyron P1 fuel pump and ASNU 1,300cc injectors to fuel the fire-breathing 5-cylinder up to 800hp, and luckily the design of the tank allows me to mount a pump on each side if I need to. A single Veyron pump should do the business though, as these things are seriously impressive.
We will make a cradle under the tank to protect it, which will also give us a rear jacking point for those fast tyre changes needed with any pro drift car. Again, keeping it simple but intelligently designed for purpose.
The massive Mishimoto intercooler will sit out front with no radiator in the way, so intake temps should be very low. The oil cooler will then sit between the engine and intercooler. More on those next time once they are mounted.
So you guys have met a couple of people behind the build and hopefully got the general idea of where we are going with this. I think we have got the balance right on this one.
We are keeping the brute force looks and amazing sound of the iconic S1 Group B rally car, and then adding modern technology to generate the 700-800 horsepower required to be competitive with the 2JZ and V8 war currently going on in drifting.
But at the same time I feel we have simplified the project, so it should work straight out of the box. In many ways drifting in 2015 is similar to Group B rallying back in 1985-86 – there are very little rules with no power limits and everything has gone a bit mad.
Building this car rear-wheel drive might be sacrilegious to some, but if I was to build it as a rally car I couldn’t use it, as it is banned from most events. Drifting is awesome and it’s the only avenue that would allow me to do what all those heroes back in the ’80s did – push the boundaries of every aspect of the car, and make as much power as possible doing it.
So I have to thank John Stone and his crew, Paddy McGrath for the amazing pictures as usual, and all our partners who are on board with us for this project
I am beside myself with excitement over this one. People will come from far and wide to see and hear this machine, and I know I will lose hours just staring at it in my workshop. It’s great to be back on Speedhunters and I’d love to know what all you guys think about the new MCNSPORT Audi Drift Sport D-Mac S1.
Please follow my social media outlets for extra pics and videos as the project comes along too.
Darren McNamara
Facebook: darrenmcnamara86
Facebook: mcnsport
Instagram: dmac86official
Twitter: dmac86
Very cool! Drifting needs more straight fives!
You should send some fellow Speedhunters to Bulgaria and check out Niki Zlatkov's S1
http://www.prospeed.bg/en/home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLflyOPeAEc
Nice project, just don't destroy it !
except the long wheel base variant it's a cool build.
What no 2jz or ls, how dear your be different and creative.
So this thing doesnt only produce white clouds, but also black ones? Anyway, cant wait to see the result
jdmRob TDI block, for strength, not a diesel motor actually.
GregFentonHNHS Turbodiesel 5-banger. Why not?
Simply WoW
Bringing back and creating another legend
Didn't think you could top the rotorcam
I am more a rally head than a drift head so I grew up watching Group B and there's nothing better than a 5 cylinder turbo at full belt don't care what anyone says
2jz blaaa it's bin done ....
V8 ? Yank tank ......
Different is cool and this will be waaay cool
D-mac just make sure there's flames big flames
UWerqxTeam_MJ GregFentonHNHS no diesel, just using the diesel block for its strength
so basically a (slightly taller) drift version of the KRB Audi? From appearance both cars will be pretty similar.
Nice to see group b inspiration! Too bad d1 doesn't allow awd... This vid makes rwd look like training wheels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09ge8T8T5MY
fucking awesome Darren, can't wait to see the beast at some round this year hopefully. All the best in the build
This vs. LaSupra?
So it's basically going to be an Audi bodied and engined S chassis
Still looks rad, and should sound radder
This project is possibly surpassing the awesomeness of the RTR-X and that's one vast accomplishment if you ask me.
@Bubble Bath McGrath, I am genuinely glad that you, Matt Jones and DMAC are part of the SH gang again!
Very cool build!! I was sad to hear D-Mac wasn't doing FD this year...but now I'm just excited to see this build progress and hit the track.
Interesting write-up as well. I like the comparison between Group B and Drifting. It's true, from a car build perspective, there's a lot of similarities right now.
I'm so glad you're not chopping that shell up. Wish you luck with the rest of the build.
what ever came of the d-mac 86?
It was for sale as a rolling shell the last I time I heard about it...that was a few months ago though
My dream car ... this is going to be a unique build for sure.
Acc Not really, KRB car was short wheel base tube frame time attack car with home made aero. This is none of those and will use the genuine group b aero with extended quarters
MatsNorway I agree!!
VivienMercier destroy it how?
@SEEKER some compromises have to be made like any race car
Acc UWerqxTeam_MJ GregFentonHNHS using the diesel block to get it up to 2.7
GregFentonHNHS lol
Paddy G Thanks man much appreciated!!
Ivan O connor Cheers man!!
econti Kind of but nothing wrong with that
@TROLLS ROYCE Thanks very much man
Twitch_6 Thank you stay tuned for more
Looks brutal already
Much love for this project, thanks for the details! Super glad you're keeping it LWB / Full wheel base. I'll go against the grain and say I don't like the SWB Audi's.
I'm curious, if you're using the Group B fenders, why not use those intakes for radiator ducts? It would provide plenty of airflow regardless of how sideways it is and would allow you to use whichever wing you wanted.
Good question. I've thought long and hard about that but I have decided to use those intakes to force the tire smoke and rubber out the rear. Blinding your opponent with tire smoke is an element of the build you should consider in a pro car. I had thought about putting a divider in there to do half and half but I think taking the air in the top of the trunk will will cool the rad very well and also help with forcing the smoke out
I still have it but it is for sale
During the races, not that i think you re a bad driver, but it'll be an amazing car which deserve to live long time : )
Perhaps I'm missing something as I am not a pro drifter, but it would seem from what I have seen the cars in a tandem drift are on roughly the same line, so the windshield remains clear of the tire smoke and attempts to blind them would be ineffective. That said, it could be possible to use fender ducts to pressurize the wheelwells, and use large *ahem* cooling fans (insert Brabham BT46B image here) for the rear mounted radiator that draw air from the wheelwells. And perhaps skirts like the Citroen DS could be used to enhance the ram air effect for the *ahem* cooling system. But of course making the skirts clear so spectators can see all the smoke being generated.
We do have to transition through the smoke all the time so you can cause the chase driver to miss reference points etc etc...
Finally, not a 2JZ or V8!
This is gonna be nasty.
Silvia X member, rear sub-frame, suspension, Brake pedal positioning.......why not just use a silvia??
I'm all for doing different stuff and not putting an LS in there is awesome, but spending all this time, money and effort to turn an Audi into a Silvia seems like a huge waste of all 3 to me.
Funny, I had thought of transitions when I started writing my comment but apparently forgot to include it. My initial thought was that the transitions were short enough for it to not matter, but it appears I was wrong; I guess for a sport involving near triple digit speeds even a half second transition can end up covering 50 feet.
DMac86 for the love of god! why? after all that love and labor that went into it, it doesn't seem like you got to enjoy it for very long...
So...it's not a drift car? Good.
Ironically, my build is literally in the same stage, and i decided on V's over X's. It's funny to see someone else having that personal conflict and choosing V's.
Looking good and diggin the concept as well as the build.
Love the various parts being used and the engine choice. Will definitely be waiting for the next update.
Will be following this build.Love it.
Wow. As a huge rally fan this certainly isn't a shape I ever expected to see in drifting! Pity you aren't going for the full SWB conversion, but I can fully understand the reasons for leaving the car with its original wheelbase.
Irrespective of the looks, this has the potential to be the greatest sounded drift car out there; in my opinion there are few engine notes as great as an inline five on the limit!
If all that's going to be left of the original car will basically be the badge, why the hell did you have to ruin an Ur-quattro!?
It is a drift car....
Lots of weird drift builds use common parts like Silvia stuff. I already have a silvia and loads of silvia spares lying around so I'm using them for the good of the program
Thank you
Thank you. Working hard to bring you guys updates very quickly
I agree. Good commentU0001f603
Stupid comment
I agree. Good commentU0001f603
Can we consider this as Speedhunter car project? As long as I can remember, this is the sickest and most radical build ever done by Speedhunter crew!
Yossarian not this again.....
Darren i'm sorry but you are going to have to come to the nurburgring drift cup when this is finished
This is going to be the best sounding drift car in the world
You made a quattro to an RWD? Sounds scary to me...
I like the way this project sounds. Its a different setup which always makes things interesting. 10 pts for creativity.
Wow.. looks badass. Bet it'll sound the same too
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS GOING, LET ALONE HEAR A 2.7 FIVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All my dreams coming true. Honestly. This..
rally2727 Yes, Darren is going to be doing regular updates on Speedhunters.com as the build progresses!
DMac86 Don't forget the S1E2 exhaust configuration as well: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d1/92/8d/d1928d7dbfd5c70aa5c3442dec09cb42.jpg
Why wouldn't they create a new Al tube chassis instead of cutting the classic
Amos77 Tube chassis would not be legal for anywhere. We are using a coupe quattro chassis not UR so an ae86 cost 10 times more to buy that the base car
@Jenz Thank you! mine too!!
Goose 944s Thank you
ilovequattro Yes it is a little wrong thats why we are calling it an S1 not a quattro
JustinOdijk I would love to
Yossarian We didnt ruin a UR quattro we used a coupe quattro as the base car
rally2727 All the updates to the time of completion with be on speedhunters and i am delighted to have them covering the build. This is a MCNSPORT and D-Mac project so not really a speedhunters build like the DMac86 was. I think speedhunters should cover this car everytime it turns a wheel in anger dont you?
DMac86 rally2727 Indeed! I also can't wait for this car competing in major league like FD or something!
dlaurence01 During tandem the chasecar is roughly aiming for the rear quarter panel of the lead car, which makes his line slightly different from that of the lead car. If you look at onboards you can see that a lot of the smoke of the lead car does end up in front of the chase car making him blind in that direction(view straight ahead will be clear but through the side window will be filled with smoke).
This is awesome to see this. I am also in the process of building a rwd coupe gt. The GT is a fairly rare car but by far does not hold the value of its big brother the URQ. I'm looking forward to seeing more on this build!
Alright, everbody will understand what car it is but nobody will be confused Anyways nice build!
Glad to hear that!
DMac86 Well, I have to admit that you are right. At least the lwb version will give you a little bit of extra stability during long drifts
rally2727 DMac86 It would not be legal for FD so not gonna be there
tbtstt DMac86 We will have to route it differently as our engine is back 10 inches or more
DMac86 Damn: no under-car flaming then?
you told me about that one year back, i didn't believe you gone do it ,i still in love with your ae86 when you launch it (the black and white edition ) but this one when its finish its gone be the most amazing drift car ever ! man i am really jealous and looking forward to see it when its finish , again you nailed it ,good luck
Great build. I want to see this all the way to the end. This might be sacrilege, but I want to try it. I was looking at a Quattro S1 shell and thought to myself... Why not put in a Chevy big block. But I digress. This is going to be an epic build.
First , with the WRONG angle of the windscreen it will never be something that looks like the real S1 . Second , to build something with RWD and call it Quattro is a Fauxpas - a crime and to use one of the realy rar original Ur-Quattro chassis is even more a crime . Sorry for the hard words . Maybe its the american way of live to mix everything up - like the guy below that talked about a V8 engine - in an old quattro ....
Sounds like great project cant wait to see the final results, best of luck!! Hon the Irish!!
@Uwe Mayer Thanks Uwe for your comment....... We are not calling it a quattro and we are not using a ur quattro chassis. read before you comment
Jimmy5694 Thanks man!
JohnVang1 Dont do a v8 5cyl or nothing
The V8 was just and idea motivator. A 5cyl just sounds to mundane to me. I'd like something more... Crazy. A twin 5cyl or a V10 made from two 5cyl.
The V8 was just an idea motivator. It just seems to mundane to have another 5cyl, just like a V8. A twin 5cyl or a V10 made out of two 5s is more or less like something I'd do.
F"·$ing AWESOME!!!! Im a Motorsport engineer and love what your doing, keep the good hard work up and going, ignore the bullshit, and carry on pushing the boundaries doing what FIA, MSA and other sanctioning bodies are so adamant on banning, human creativity and THE SHOW of the sport ! Love it, Keep us posted
I had read the Mac S1 build part 2-3 before, this is very nice thread. Perfect start.
@Uwe Mayer Sorry this is not a Ur Quattro but a normal coupe Audi.
@Uwe Mayer Sorry this is not a Ur Quattro but a normal coupe Audi.
Wow there are a lot of crazy comments, is this really such a controversial build? I guess there must be a lot of purists out there who can't comprehend anything but a Group B replica huh? I love the unusual sound of the 5cyl being caned, I heard one in Rally of Whangarei here in NZ (think it is owned by Andrew Hawkeswood) and it blew my mind - good on ya for not throwing a 2JZ/LS/whatever else in there I like the use of tried and tested (bloody Nissan) gear to make life easier too and matching your Silvia seating position. I own an AE86 GT Apex Levin and love your Toyota but I think I might love the idea of this even more, can't wait to see it sideways!
Best regards
Jordan (JsnapsNZ)
Irelands Finest! Im a motorsport engineer, done quite a bit in the high fields and totally approve of this and am desperate to see more updates. Mr D-Mac!! Give the fans some more eye candy please and show the haters how its done!!