These are the techniques professional drifters use and should never be attempted in public.

First, they may yank the handbrake, which creates a loss of traction in the rear tires. It's not the prettiest, but it's the easiest for inexperienced drivers to pull off. Second, like all good American police movies, there's the powerslide: they turn into a corner, step on the gas, and watch tires worth hundreds of dollars vaporize into smoke. Third, the lift-off drift — in the middle of a corner, lifting off the accelerator induces a slide caused by engine braking.

Downshifting without braking very quickly causes the rear tires to momentarily lock (called "shift lock") — but even pros sometimes blow their engines using this technique. Drifters can kick the clutch in the middle of the corner, sometimes in quick succession, producing a drivetrain shock that upsets the car's balance, inducing a slide.

The final, and most impressive drift — popularized way back in the '70s by Takahashi — is the good old feint drift. Rally drivers, sprint car drivers and drifters use this technique. For a right-hander, drifters turn left, then right in quick succession to send their car into the mother of all slides. Or into a tire wall, if done wrong.

For spectators, seeing a gracefully sliding, high-horsepower drift car lose control and plow into a barrier or into another competitor is all part of the thrill. But where can you get a drifting fix?