From a profitability perspective, hiring a pro drifter to run factory tours probably isn’t the best idea. Even a driver like Vaughn Gittin Jr. (who just finished second in the 2012 Formula Drift championship) occasionally misjudges distances, meaning that a car or two will need to go back to the body shop before delivery to a dealer or customer.
On the other hand, if Ford opened up plant tours of its Flat Rock assembly line, home of the Mustang, and charged visitors $25 for a ride with Vaughn Gittin Jr., we imagine it would have an entirely new profit center on its hands. We’d certainly pay that much for the privilege of inhaling Gittin’s tire smoke first-hand, and we’re probably not alone.
While Gittin’s Second Shift Drift isn’t quite as elaborate as Ken Block’s Gymkhana series, it’s still an entertaining three-and-a-half-minute video. There are no product placements (aside from the obvious herd of Mustangs), no X-Games contender cameos and no gorilla-suited stuntmen on a ladder; instead, it’s just Gittin, his RTR Mustang and a semi-deserted plant.
We admire Gittin’s skills at keeping a car sideways through corners, but sincerely hope he doesn't personally test drive each and every production RTR Mustang built. We prefer our cars to be broken in with a bit more care.
