2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe drifting
The intrepid author steps into the classroom for his drifting lesson. The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe is shown here.

For the introduction of the 2010 Genesis Coupe, Hyundai’s first rear-wheel-drive performance coupe, the company wanted to make it clear that they weren’t just dipping a toe into the performance-car pool; they were jumping in the deep end with both feet. To quickly make a splash in the marketplace and grab the attention of young, budget-conscious performance-car enthusiasts, Hyundai teamed up with popular professional driver Rhys Millen. Since the majority of affordable sporty/performance coupes are front-wheel drive, Hyundai wanted to drive home the point that its new performance machine is rear-wheel drive. A lurid sideways slide with smoke billowing from the back tires is a good way to accomplish that. Launch advertising for the Genesis Coupe featured Millen expertly drifting a stock Genesis Coupe around Georgia’s Road Atlanta race course.

Drifting is an advanced driving technique that blossomed into a motorsport of its own about 30 years ago in Japan. The sport eventually migrated to the U.S. and caught on in a big way in the early 2000s. To drift a car, the driver intentionally induces oversteer, and then uses exact steering and throttle inputs to control the car’s sideways trajectory. It’s a potentially dangerous technique meant for use only on tracks by experienced drivers…and I had a perfect opportunity to try it in the new Genesis Coupe.

At a recent automotive press event at the famed Road America race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Hyundai brought in a pair of showroom-stock, V6-powered Genesis Coupe Track models, along with Rhys Millen and fellow professional drifter Stephan Verdier. I was able to get a quick ride-along and a behind-the-wheel tutorial in the art of drifting with Verdier. I was happy to get the chance to try drifting in a safe environment, with someone else’s car and with someone else’s tires.