Mercedes-AMG E63 S 4MATIC+ drifted

Tokyo Drift, Initial D, and many others have ingrained in us the idea that Drifting is synonymous with Japanese motorsport.

And this video won’t change your mind. Meet Keiichi Tsuchiya, the ‘Drift King’ of Japan.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that there are plenty of videos of Tsuchiya drifting various cars, but this one of him in an AMG E63 S has us intrigued.

Unfortunately, none of MOTOR’s staff can speak fluent Japanese, and YouTube’s automatic translation suggests that Tsuchiya wants to “eat this winter record”, so we can rule that method out.

If for nothing else, this video is an example of pure drifting mastery from someone who started drifting before a lot of us were even born.

Still, it appears that the E63 isn’t as wild as we might have hoped. The drift mode can send all 100% of the car’s 450kW/850Nm to the rears, but there just isn’t enough smoke and noise from the car.

So he plonks the AMG into a skid-pan and lets loose once again, getting to grips with the 1955kg monster.

But if anyone was going to be able to get the most out of the E63 S’s drift mode, it’s Tsuchiya.

He’s been sliding cars around for decades, even in races that weren’t drift-focused, and his early life has a few parallels with the protagonist of the aforementioned Initial D. He was also a technical consultant for the series, as well as appearing via cameo in both Initial D and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

He even drifts a now legendary Toyota AE86 which he has had since his career began.

That’s not bad for a 61-year-old. Then again, he’s basically the father of drift.