The Evil Empire is one of the oldest drift teams in Russia, and since they got their start in 2009 they’ve put the EE name to a number of unique and unconventional builds. But the latest creation out of the team’s Saint Petersburg compound takes things to a whole new level.

Thanks to Lex Ulanov,  we were able to take a look around the Evil Empire’s expansive workshop back in 2016, and at that time Sergey Kabargin and the team had numerous JZA80-based builds on the go. While they definitely haven’t abandoned the Mk4 Toyota Supra platform, the car they’re calling ‘Flanker-F’ is something very different.

As was mentioned in that original story, the EE actually began as a movement for extreme sports fans with a focus on skateboarding, snowboarding and BMX, but drifting soon took over and the rest is history.

Since 2012, Sergey – AKA ddKaba – has campaigned five Supras and a wild Chevrolet Corvette Z06 in competition, but for his latest build he started from scratch.

It was while driving the HGK Racing-built Z06 ‘Driftvette’ in Formula Drift that Sergey decided to develop his own hypercar, and as proven in the past, when he puts his mind to something the result is always impressive.

Sergey knew what he wanted, and car-building expertise of the Evil Empire workshop team were able to bring the vision to life within the space of just 12 months. After designing the chassis and bodywork in CAD and then rendering a 3D digital model, full-size templates and dummy panels were constructed and test-fitted.

Eventually, the custom panels were produced out of composite material – carbon fiber for the internal parts and carbon-Kevlar for the exterior where extra strength and elasticity was required. All in all, around 100 separate pieces bring the car together.

The EE definitely haven’t held back in the past when it’s come to exterior finishes and graphics, but with this build Sergey decided to keep things super-clean with a simple combination of iridescent yellow/orange paint and the raw carbon fiber for contrast.

One extra cool detail are the ‘Evil Empire’ and ‘ddKaba’ logos, which are reversed out from the paint.

The custom work extends to all aspect of the build, including the wheels. They aren’t small either, measuring 20×9.5-inches at the front end and 20×12-inches out back. Look carefully and you’ll see ddKaba logos stamped into the barrels.

The engine itself is built around an RHS (Racing Head Service) aluminium LS V8 race block and displaces 7.6-liters. It’s the full package, running Mast Motorsport cylinder heads and a Plazmaman Pro Series intake among other racing-grade upgrades.

After assembly the car was setup and tuned at GoshaTurboTech (GTT) in Moscow, and there 640whp and 760wNm was realised during dyno testing.

Getting all that power and torque to the ground is a race-grade setup built around a custom carbon driveshaft and a one-off sequential-geared transaxle from Winters Performance and Samsonas Motorsport

As for the suspension, many of the same custom CNC-machined components developed for Sergey’s other cars have been adapted for use in the hypercar, and you’ll also find custom Kenetica Suspension race coilovers in the mix. The brakes are Wilwood fare, 6-pot calipers up front and 2-pots out the back.

As with previous projects, the build came together on Sergey’s YouTube channel, and it’s definitely worth checking out all the updates, even if you have to rely on the hit-and-miss closed caption translation.

At the end of the build, the channel’s subscribers were asked to come up with a name for the creation, and that’s where ‘Flanker-F’ – the NATO codename for Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau’s SU-37 Russian fighter aircraft – came from.

The Flanker-F’s public debut took place at the first round of the 2018 Russian Drift Series GP at Moscow Raceway in early May. Unsurprisingly, it was a big hit with the 12,000 spectators in attendance – the most ever seen at a Russian drift event.

We thought Sergey’s Supra builds were pretty cool, but this one has really taken Evil Empire to the next level. Now it’s all up to ddKaba to bring home the RDS championship points.

Words by Maria Nait (Instagram: manyazzzz) & Brad Lord

Photos by Lex Ulanov
Instagram: lexulanov

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