Drifting in Style: Yannick Desy
When Yannick Desy took on too many concussions from 6-7 years of professional snowboarding a new chapter for another hobbie began. So, when a friend with 3 project Supras decided to downsize and give Yannick an offer he couldn’t refuse. A world of possibilities opened before him marking the beginning of his journey into hardcore drifting.
Yannick’s 1986 Toyota Supra before modifications.
What originally began as a purchase for a show car 6 years ago, Yannick decided to do a complete rebuild of the chassis opting to turn it into a drift car. With humble beginnings and hard work the Supra began to slowly evolve.
Initial modifications included Fiberglass wide-body fenders, a complete teardown of the interior, installation of a cube shifter paired to an NRG knob, and Agile Performance’s tie rods, angle kit, as well as their control and camber arms. Yannick enjoyed a few rides, making adjustments as needed to alignment while still running the original 7M-NAT build.
Shortly afterward, to continue his goal of building a drift monster he installed dual calipers paired to a Wilwood hydraulic E-brake for better lock of the rear wheels.
An NRG Prisma bucket seat sitting on Corbeau sliders and a white Cipher harness was tracked down to hug and keep him in place while whipping around corners. Dropped and did a complete overhaul of the rear subframe including sandblasting, custom steel bracing, powder-coating, and opting for Energy polyurethane bushings to beef things up a bit.
Back to rebuilding the interior, Yannick started by creating custom aluminum door panels. Using a piece of plastic on the door he used this to create a template for bolt and speaker holes before transfering onto cardboard for a final trace and cut onto aluminum.
Of course, drifting can be an intense sport with many dangers so a full roll cage was assembled to ensure Yannick’s safety in the case of an accident as well as a custom Dussault Fab front and rear bash bar. Finishing touches included powder-coating of each of these parts including the rear subframe in a bright luscious pink and fresh white for the bash bars and roll cage and flocking the dash in black.
It was now time to get back to work on the body. A 326POWER wing was ordered and cut to fit. An 89+ font bumper paired to a MKIV Supra front lip, side skirts, and custom rear bumper made to fit with the help of @Wheel.Garage. Continuing with the habit of thoroughness Yannick made sure to have the underbody and wheel wells sealed to protect his investment and reinstalled a set of white Work VS wheels with pink hardware for the Soup to sit on.
Weeks of sanding and prepping for paint before a final send off to Premium Body Shop where his beloved MKIII was painted in a stunning and unique Daytona Violet Purple.
The original 7M-NAT was finally swapped for a 500hp 1JZ-GTE powerhouse. Although a full build list isn’t available some notable upgrades include additional Dussault Fab parts such as a custom downpipe and exhaust kit.
After 6 years of consistent work finally paid off and over 100K invested. Yannick has finally completed his dream build as of three weeks ago and is already hitting up local tracks for some old fashioned sideways fun. Managing to get some good shots in as well! Make sure to check those out and watch this awesome video of him on the track.
Thank you Yannick for sharing your story with me and I can’t wait to see you take this beast out for some more track day fun!
Owner: Yannick Desy
Year/Make/Model: 1986 Toyota Supra
Drivetrain: 1JZ-GTE Non-VVTI
Photographer: Yannick Desy, APOX Media Dot Com
Editor: Emily Soloman
