Remember in the mid-1990s when everything, from potato chips to air conditioning, went through a period of “XTREME” marketing? Those days came and went, though it feels like the extreme fad might be returning. The latest evidence of the return of extreme marketing? Formula Drift Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. undertaking the ridiculous “Fire Drift” at the behest of his sponsor, Monster Energy.
We welcome the absurdity of extreme marketing back with open arms, so long as it all includes this level of production value and sheer ballsiness. We’re actually kind of surprised at the level of destruction in this video. You generally don’t treat a professional race car like a $500 hooptie.
The video gets started with a flaming barrel bashed by the back end of Gittin’s 2014 Mustang drift car, and the action never slows down. There are jumps, explosions, flamethrowers and flares all mixed into this less-than-four-minute action video. It has a very post-apocalyptic feel to it, and it looks like it must have been a blast to film, especially for Gittin.
Gittin’s Mustang loses its rear bumper cover in the opening segment, and some well-placed LEDs give it an almost UFO-like look. If you ask us, Gittin just threw down the gauntlet to Ken Block and crew. Sire, Gymkhana is still pretty epic, but where are the explosions, the wreckage, and the rock music? Gymkhana or Fire Drift, which do you prefer?