Most friends mark a business anniversary with a card. T-Pain commissioned a 910-horsepower drift car. RTR Vehicles unveiled the “Twerk Horse” on September 18 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, a one-off Mustang RTR Spec 5-D built as a surprise gift for Hert, T-Pain’s longtime friend and co-founder of Nappy Boy Automotive.
The horsepower number gets the headline. The more interesting story is the brief behind it: build a car that can take the kind of abuse Hert dishes out.
A gift with an engineering brief
Nappy Boy Automotive was founded by T-Pain and Hertrech Eugene Jr., and the pair launched the brand at GRIDLIFE Laguna in 2023. GRIDLIFE says the car was timed to mark the three-year anniversary of that debut. RTR says the idea came out of a conversation between T-Pain and RTR founder Vaughn Gittin Jr. exactly one year after RTR finished T-Pain’s own Spec 5-D Convertible drift car. The goal, per RTR, was a car that wouldn’t keep breaking under Hert’s driving.
Gittin says he has known Hert for nearly 20 years, and that Hert drives everything at 110 percent. T-Pain’s own verdict was blunter: if anyone needs an RTR build to “survive the way they drive,” it’s Hert.
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The timing was almost too neat. The two primary sources tell slightly different versions of what happened to Hert’s previous car. RTR’s release has Gittin saying Hert lost his TwerkStallion in an accident a few weeks before the reveal. GRIDLIFE’s release says the car Hert had driven for 16 years broke one weekend before, leaving him without a car for the season finale. Either way, the Twerk Horse was already finished, tested and on its way to Laguna Seca.
Where the 910 hp comes from
The engine is a Ford Racing Gen 4 Coyote Aluminator with a Whipple 3.0-liter supercharger, managed by Ford Racing’s Gen 4 Controls Pack. The Aluminator is Ford’s own high-performance version of the Mustang GT’s 5.0-liter V8, which is why it suits a build like this.
Ford sells two versions. The naturally aspirated one runs 12.0:1 compression and is rated at 480 horsepower. The version built for boost drops to 9.5:1 compression, using forged Mahle pistons, Manley H-beam connecting rods with ARP 2000 bolts, and a forged steel crankshaft. RTR hasn’t said which one is in the car, but lower compression is the conventional way to make room for a big blower. Either way, 910 hp is nearly double what Ford rates the NA engine at, and that’s why the forged internals matter.
A driveline built for abuse
The parts list reads like a guide to the components that break first on a hard-driven drift car, each replaced with something tougher.
- Clutch and bellhousing: An Advanced Clutch Technology clutch and a Holley Quick Time bellhousing.
- Transmission: A G-Force dogbox. Dog engagement drops the synchros that wear out when you slam gears mid-slide. Shifts are brutally fast, but the box needs regular inspection of the dog rings and makes a road-car gearbox feel civilized.
- Rear end: A Winters quick-change differential. The name is literal: the final-drive ratio can be changed by swapping gears at the back of the housing, so the team can re-gear for a tight course or a fast one without rebuilding the axle.
- Driveshaft: A one-piece carbon-fiber unit from The Driveshaft Shop.
- Fuel and electronics: A Radium Engineering fuel system, NGK plugs, and Haltech power distribution and display. Solid-state power distribution replaces fuses and relays, which matters in a car that spends its life being shaken hard.
One small detail worth noticing is the oil: Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 10W-60. That’s a much thicker grade than a street Coyote runs, and it’s a sign of how much heat this engine will see in long, high-rpm drift sessions.
Chassis, wheels and livery
Suspension is custom BC Racing ER-Type two-way coilovers with RTR billet suspension arms. The car runs on Falken Azenis tires mounted to polished RTR T-5R two-piece forged wheels, which RTR says are a first for one of its drift builds. The bodywork is the Spec 5-D carbon-fiber widebody with wake towers, a long list of RTR grille and aero pieces, and a livery RTR describes as designed around Hert’s personality.
Inside, there are Kinetic seats, an MPI steering wheel and RTR by Schroth Racing harnesses. GRIDLIFE describes the car as a 2026 Mustang RTR Spec 5-D and notes that several suppliers, including BC Racing, Falken and Kinetic, are also GRIDLIFE partners. That’s worth remembering. This is a sincere gift, and it’s also a very well-coordinated sponsor showcase.
Why matching cars matter
The most practical detail in RTR’s release is easy to skip. Putting both Nappy Boy co-founders in similar RTR-built Mustangs lets the team share knowledge, parts and spares.
Anyone who has run a race team knows why that matters. Two cars with common hardware mean one set of spares in the trailer, one set of setup notes, and a mechanic who already knows where everything is. For a small team running a full drift season, parts commonality can be the difference between making the next session and loading up early.
Don’t confuse it with the Mustang RTR at your dealer
The name overlaps with a street car, so it’s worth being clear. RTR says Ford is launching a factory-built Mustang RTR in 2026, only the second time Ford has co-created a production Mustang with an outside partner. That car comes with a warranty and is sold through dealers.
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The Twerk Horse is something else entirely. RTR itself says it isn’t a street Mustang dressed as a drift car. A dogbox, a quick-change diff and 910 supercharged horsepower don’t come with a factory warranty, and a car like this would normally be covered by specialized motorsport insurance rather than a regular auto policy.
The takeaway
Strip away the name and the celebrity angle, and the Twerk Horse is a smart piece of team building. It gives Hert a car engineered around how he actually drives and puts both Nappy Boy founders on shared hardware. It also gives RTR a rolling example of what its Spec 5-D platform can take.
For everyone else, the lesson is simpler. If a friend ever offers you 910 horsepower, check whether it comes with a spare dogbox.
Images Via: RTR Vehicles
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