Lightning McQueen comes to life as an RX-7 drift machine with the coolest style

Animated racing legend Lightning McQueen has been brought to life as a drifting sensation, as this New Zealand man has transformed his Mazda RX-7 into a homage to the seven-time Piston Cup winner.

Disney starlet Lightning McQueen was the introduction to cars and racing for millions of kids who grew into adult gearheads.

But the Pixar creation was a custom-built, one-of-a-kind race car, unlike other racers in the Cars universe which were based on real-life models.

And that has made it impossible to make a 100 percent replica of McQueen – but this Mazda RX-7 is as close as you could ever hope to see.

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In the Car-verse, McQueen’s girlfriend Sally being a Porsche 911 set the trend of real-life cars being used.

The franchise then began to base its cars on real-life icons. For instance, Strip ‘The King’ Weather was a direct reference to NASCAR legend Richard Petty and his Plymouth Superbird.

Lightning McQueen was never given a specific body, though, as Pixar left him as a custom-made race car.

However, it now looks like he’s a Mazda RX-7, as this amazing build is the best reimagination of the Disney icon that we’ve ever seen.

Created by New Zealand drift racer Luke McKinnon – and aptly nicknamed after himself as Lightning McKinnon – this reimagination has put the Mazda RX-7 blueprint to the best use possible.

Using a Pandem Rocket Bunny widebody kit to get the look kicked off, the iconic red and yellow 95-printed and lightning-bolt livery was painted on in immaculate fashion.

The RX-7 maintains its original turbocharged twin-rotor 13B engine, but a sequential transmission featuring straight-cut gears has turned it into drifting dynamite.

As highlighted on Instagram, Lightning McKinnon burns rubber with ease on the track, leaving a cloud of dust and the competition in the rearview mirror.

It’s not the first Lightning McQueen replica ever, though. Another Mazda rebuild saw a NASCAR version created – and it certainly won’t be the last.

But it might just be the best we’ve ever seen.

Ka-Chowww!