Watch the Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya, Slide Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N

• Hyundai is getting rightful praise for releasing its first all-electric hot hatch, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, boasting over 600 horsepower.

• The ultimate praise, however, has now come from Keiichi Tsuchiya, the Drift King himself, as he laps the EV at Sydney Motorsports Park.

• With big sideways angles and twitchy, responsive steering, the drift culture icon echos early press tests in saying the Ioniq 5 N dwarfs its own weight.

If the name Keiichi Tsuchiya doesn't ring any bells, a collection of YouTube channels including GT Channel and Best MOTORing official may conjure late nights of JDM dreaming. But the name is Keiichi Tsuchiya is important all by itself, as Tsuchiya represents a catalyst for drifting culture here in American.

Commonly referred to as the Drift King, Tsuchiya holds credentials as a 24 Hours of LeMans racer, but most know him for his "touge" driving. Exploring the impact that the phrase touge (meaning pass in Japanese) has had in the US is worth its own anthology, but there's no doubt that Tsuchiya is the face of backroad shenanigans for many enthusiasts.

And some automakers like to tap into that hooligan lifestyle, believe it or not. While I'm sure the legal team at Hyundai struggled with a pro-drifting depiction, Hyundai's N-line performance branch teamed up with the Drift King himself to promote its new Ioniq 5 N. And the results are naturally full of tire smoke.

Set at Sydney Motorsports Park in Australia, the Drift King makes quick work of the Ioniq 5 N, angling it gently sideways as he gets a feel for it. But he quickly gets the hang of sending the electric hatch into deep sideways angles, noting it's the first EV he has driven that can genuinely drift.

With 601 horsepower and 545 lb-ft of torque during normal operation, it's not entirely surprising that the Ioniq 5 N is willing to slide to the Drift King's content. But it's actually the simulated gear shifts and unhampered agility of the hot hatch that make Tsuchiya feel at home. It doesn't feel like a nearly 5000-pound car, he says.

According to our friends at Road & Track, this masked weight, and hyper-responsive character is what stands out the most about the Ioniq 5 N. Sure, it's BMW M5 fast, but it's a hot-hatch through and through. And if the Ioniq 5 N is good enough for the Drift King, we're sure it's good enough for us, too.

Will we ever see an all-electric Formula Drift series? Would you watch? Please share your thoughts below.