YouTuber Builds a Half-Scale, Rotary-Powered Mazda RX-7 Drift KartMotorBiscuitRahaan MazumderTue, September 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleWhen it comes to internet car culture, the most entertaining projects are rarely the million-dollar hypercars or the perfectly pristine, factory-restored classics. The real magic happens in the backyard garages, where self-taught fabricators decide to mash completely unrelated parts together just to see if they work.Enter Kenny from the YouTube channel Paton Machines, who has spent the last few months chronicling an absolutely unhinged, wildly creative project: a fully custom, half-scale Mazda RX-7 drift kart powered by a literal rotary engine. And after weeks of cutting, welding, and swearing at mechanical couplings, the miniature JDM legend has finally hit the pavement.The Frankenstein DrivetrainIn a recent pair of videos documenting the final assembly and the maiden voyage of the kart, Kenny gave a full breakdown of the absolute Frankenstein machinery hiding under the fiberglass RX-7 hood.AdvertisementAdvertisement"Up front we've got a 160cc SAX rotary engine," Kenny explained, showcasing the tiny, single-rotor powerhouse. Because a standard go-kart centrifugal clutch simply wouldn't do justice to the rotary experience, he got creative. He mounted the SACHS rotary engine to the bottom-end transmission of a four-speed pit bike, allowing the kart to actively shift gears.The power is then sent through a custom driveshaft into a 90-degree forward/reversing gearbox, and finally out to a solid rear axle. Because the 160cc engine only makes roughly 8 horsepower, Kenny knew it wouldn't have the grunt to naturally break traction on rubber tires. To solve that, he equipped the rear wheels with PVC drift sleeves."It's not going to do much in terms of create smoke, so we're going for the drift sleeves on the back, and hopefully that's going to allow me to steer," he noted.Trial, Error, and the "Death Wobble"The entire philosophy of Paton Machines is figuring things out on the fly. As Kenny perfectly summarized his channel's goal: "do things wrong, figure it out, and then redo it".AdvertisementAdvertisementThat trial-and-error approach was on full display during the kart's first real test drive. In the second video, Kenny successfully fired up the rotary engine, navigated out of a tight garage space (utilizing the functional reverse gear), and took it down a paved road.However, things immediately got sketchy as he shifted into higher gears. "I can putt along at a slow pace, but as soon as that speed comes up just starts that death wobble," he warned. The onboard footage shows the steering wheel violently shaking back and forth, making the kart completely undrivable at speed.Realizing the kart had a major suspension geometry issue, Kenny took the vehicle straight back to the shop, removed the front wheels, and took an angle grinder directly to the front kingpins. He aggressively tweaked the alignment, adding roughly 5 degrees of positive caster, dialing in a bit of negative camber, and adjusting the toe-out."What a Success"The backyard alignment completely transformed the machine. On the second test drive, the kart pulled smoothly through the gears without a single vibration from the steering column.AdvertisementAdvertisement"That's better no speed [wobbles] whatsoever," he cheered as he accelerated smoothly down the tarmac.With the drift sleeves allowing the back end to kick out and the four-speed gearbox successfully pulling the kart all the way into fourth gear, Kenny pulled back into his staging area and proudly declared the run, "What a success".Now that the mechanical foundation is running smoothly, Kenny is currently thinking about the next ridiculous step for the miniature RX-7: should he add a turbocharger, or mount an AMR 300 supercharger directly out of the hood to give his feet more room in the cabin?Whichever route he chooses, it is easily one of the most entertaining, grassroots builds currently running on YouTube.