No, you can’t buy this 400 hp and 555 Nm version of the Hyundai Starex (called the iMax in Australia) because it’s not road legal and Hyundai doesn’t plan to build it either, but for fun/fear factor for eight, the Hyundai iMax N Drift Bus has no rival.
This one-off initiative is part of Hyundai Australia’s efforts to spread the good word of the N performance division, so they ditched the regular 2.5-litre CRDi four-cylinder common-rail diesel for a fire-breathing 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6! The motor is in turn mated to an eight-speed automatic transferring all the grunt to the rear wheels.
The drift bus features electronically controlled dampers, 19-inch alloys borrowed from the i30 N, wearing ‘performance rubber’ and N-spec brakes. Incredibly, the iMax N Drift Bus achieves 50-50 weight distribution with eight people on-board, take that BMW.
Even the interior isn’t spared, the Drift Bus comes with N steering wheel and N sports front seats, with matching suede and leather on the two rear bench seat rows, but still retains its 842-litre cargo space. Talk about getting maximum bang for bus.
