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Hyundai iMax N: Bonkers "Drift Bus" is a track-attack people mover

Have you ever wanted lap a race track but worried about how you'd find the space for you and seven of your closest friends? 

Well worry no longer, with Hyundai pulling the covers off its utterly bonkers iMax N "Drift Bus" ahead of the World Time Attack Challenge.

Based on the eight-seat iMax, this one-off build shoehorns the brand’s twin-turbocharged V6 engine under the bonnet. And that means 300kW and 555Nm of tyre-shredding power at your disposal.

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, the iMax N began life as an April Fool’s joke, with a picture posted by the brand’s German division as a gag.

But Hyundai in Australia didn’t just see the funny side, they saw an opportunity to create something ludicrously lusty, and so they got to work.

Read More About Hyundai Imax

The result is this, possibly the world’s maddest bus - at least, one that still performs its people-carrying duty - that will be set loose at the Word Time Attack Challenge this weekend.

That V6 engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and Hyundai’s boffins have fitted a mean-sounding bi-modal exhaust to ensure the soundtrack is every bit as brutal.

Under the skin, there’s new suspension, bigger N brakes and 19-inch alloys wrapped in porter rubber, and the brand is promising a perfect 50:50 weight distribution with eight hardy souls on board.

But before you get too excited, this is a genuine one-off build, with the iMax unable to even be road registered.  

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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