Whiddett has been a staple of the New Zealand drifting scene, beginning with a Mazda RX7 dubbed ‘MADBUL’.
He became synonymous with the Wankel engine and famously turned a McLaren P1-podied, rotary-powered 650S GT3 into a drift car he calls ‘MADMAC’.
Among his other ‘MAD’ creations is a Mazda 787B-inspired prototype he calls the 787D and a Lamborghini Huracan ‘NIMBUL’.
Now he’s taking on what he says is his biggest challenge yet – a Leyton House March 87P.
“No one is even going to remember MADMAC after this,” said Whiddett.
“That’s being a bit rude to MADMAC. It’s pretty special, but this is going to be pretty wild.
“I’m quite nervous, to be honest. This is going to be by far the most challenging thing we’re about to turn into a drift car.”
The 87P was the first car that Leyton House entered in 1987 for its first F1 season.
It was a hybrid of a modified Formula 3000 chassis married to a Ford DFZ Cosworth V8.
However, the car never made the start of the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix due to an engine failure.
It was replaced immediately by the March 871 and the March 87P ultimately never saw competition again.
“They came off Formula 3000 and transformed the car for Formula 1,” Whiddett explained.
“Every photo you see of these cars, they’re different, because they were trying different stuff.”
Watch the first part of Whiddett’s video series documenting the build at the top of this story.
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