Tokyo Drift In A Barbie Car
Also known as: Super Power Wheels · Barbie Corvette Crash · No Brakes
Tokyo Drift in a Barbie Car is a fail video clip from 2006 showing a man wiping out on a Barbie-themed Power Wheels Corvette while sliding down a driveway at surprising speed. The footage became a popular GIF on YTMND and spawned a demotivational poster captioned "Tokyo Drift, You can't do it in a Barbie car," tying it to the then-new *Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift* film.
Overview
The clip shows a young man riding a battery-powered Barbie Corvette toy down a steep, slippery driveway. He picks up speed fast, loses control, and slams straight into a bush. The footage was pulled from a longer video of friends testing various Power Wheels vehicles under difficult conditions2. The crash scene was isolated as an animated GIF and paired with references to *Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift* and the anime *Initial D*1, turning a backyard stunt gone wrong into a running joke about drift driving in the least appropriate vehicle imaginable.
On March 15, 2006, eBaum's World user "ebaum" uploaded a minute-long video titled "Super Power Wheels," showing a group of friends pushing various Power Wheels toy vehicles to their limits2. One scene stood out: a young man careening down a wet driveway on a Barbie-branded Corvette before losing control and crashing into bushes. The video hit YouTube the following day2.
Within days, the crash scene was isolated as an animated GIF. The earliest known instance appeared on a Russian GIF catalogue site on March 24, 20062.
Origin & Background
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
This meme is mostly referenced rather than templated. The GIF typically gets posted as a reaction to overconfident failures, particularly involving vehicles or stunts that were never going to work. The demotivational format follows the standard structure: the crash GIF or a still frame up top, with "TOKYO DRIFT" as the title and "You can't do it in a Barbie car" as the punchline below.
Fun Facts
The original "Super Power Wheels" video featured multiple toy vehicles being tested, but only the Barbie Corvette crash caught on as a meme.
The YTMND asset page for the GIF carries the subtitle "Why Initial D should never be attempted," framing the wipeout as a failed anime-style drift.
deadlyevans' YTMND page went up just three days after *Tokyo Drift* hit theaters, making it one of the earliest meme responses to the film.
HACaboose's "Barbie Corvette Crash" and the "Epic Tokyo Drift Maneuver" both hit the same 21,000-view milestone on YTMND by 2015.
Derivatives & Variations
"No Brakes! No Brakes!"
— HACaboose's original YTMND edit, pairing the GIF with *Initial D* references and the "No Brakes" caption[1].
"lol, Tokyo Drift?"
— deadlyevans' YTMND page connecting the clip to the *Fast & Furious* franchise, part of the "Lol, Internet" fad[2].
"Epic Tokyo Drift Maneuver"
— A mashup with YTMND's Epic Maneuvers fad, accumulating over 21,000 views by 2015[2].
Demotivational poster
— The "Tokyo Drift, You can't do it in a Barbie car" image macro that circulated on forums starting in early 2007[2].
Frequently Asked Questions
References (3)
- 1
- 2Tokyo Drift in a Barbie Car - Know Your Memeencyclopedia
- 3List of films with post-credits scenesencyclopedia