A Late Night With the Sultan of Drift

Take a late-night cruise around the industrial quarter of Sharjah, and you’ll experience a multitude of sights and sounds; hustle and bustle typical of a worker’s district.

Wide, sandy streets lined with rows of transport trucks, food joints serving up Indian cuisine for a hungry labour force and crowds of blue-collar workers spilling out into the road – enjoying the cool moonlight, away from the stifling heat of the day.

But if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse inside one of the warehouses. See, one of the units is unlike any other, not storing tiles or cinder blocks, but one of the wildest collections of modified cars you’ll ever see.

Said premises belong to Sultan Al Qassimi, a man who doesn’t put the words ‘not’ and ‘possible’ next to one another.

That’s why I couldn’t refuse, when Sultan asked me to come round one night to take an early look at a new project he has in the works. But we’re not here to talk about that, not yet. It’s the unassuming workshop that’s getting some attention…

…as the minute you step inside, you’re greeted by Sultan’s McLaren 12C drift car wearing bespoke – and outrageous – bodywork designed by Khyzyl Saleem. Chevrolet LS-swapped, with a custom interior and manual drivetrain, it’s purely designed to go sideways.

Ignore the light charring under the bonnet, things got a little hot at Ultrace 2025 in Poland – all thanks to a wiring connector. Typical.

Yet somehow, the McLaren pales in comparison to the rest of Sultan’s workshop, thanks to the sheer variety of the cars hidden away.

American cruisers, JDM legends, high-powered German muscle cars and even some ultra-lightweight British track toys, there’s something for everybody in some corner of the unit.

Sultan’s other famed drift cars were parked to one side, from his hotboi-style Porsche Panamera to his carbon fibre-bodied Bentley Continental GT and an old friend which I’ve spent some time with in the UK – the Old-New Japan slant-nose Porsche 911. All of them are LS-powered, of course.

Step upstairs and look away from the cars for a minute, because the sheer scale of Sultan’s operation is mind-blowing, too. The wall lined with body panels and moulds is particularly arresting, as are the shelves stacked with rare Japanese goodies – as well as OEM items which look out of place in all the aftermarket chaos.

Glance inside the purpose-built rooms and you’ll see where Sultan’s visions come to fruition, with in-house machining, engine work, paint booth and a specific space for creating composite panels – all from scratch.

What makes the workshop all the more remarkable is the fact that it isn’t a business. The entire operation is there solely for Sultan’s own builds, and for those of his friends, too. That’s why you’ll find a pair of wide, comfy sofas in the waiting area, where we spent most of the evening catching up and talking shop about the state of car culture.

About that new project in the works? Well, safe to say there’s nothing out there like it – and I’m itching to get the chance to spend some time with it…both on the street and in the desert.