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Kahli Bell is an Adelaide-based drift driver, qualified mechanic, and precision stunt driver who has become one of the recognised figures in Australian women’s drifting — building her skills, her cars, and her business largely from scratch, without a racing family or a roadmap.

EARLY YEARS

“None of my family are into cars,” Bell told Street Machine in a May 2026 interview [1] — a fact that makes her trajectory more remarkable, not less. Growing up in Adelaide, South Australia, she was the one who had to figure things out herself. At 17, she bought a 1989 Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T with front-end damage and set about learning what to do with it. “When I was 17, I began teaching myself how to work on my R32 Skyline,” she said. [1]

Around the same time, she started a part-time paint-and-panel apprenticeship with SA Chassis while still at school — the same shop that later helped her repair the Skyline’s front-end damage. [1] She left the apprenticeship after becoming pregnant, but the skills and the ambition didn’t go anywhere. After leaving, she started Custom Importz, an online business selling car parts and wheels. She and her partner Tom later expanded into a mechanical workshop; by 2014, Bell was a qualified mechanic and the business had six employees. [1]

OTHER INTERESTS

Bell has done precision and stunt driving work for Toyota, Honda, Mobil, and Lexus commercials, as well as live shows. [1] It’s a side of her career that doesn’t fit neatly into any single category — not competition, not demo, but something that rewards the same combination of car control and preparation.

She has also taken her eldest daughter drifting since the daughter was 12, with the stated goals of building confidence behind the wheel and teaching her to drive manual. [1] More recently, Bell began instructing with Glitter Gang Drift Club, which promotes drifting for women. [1] The through-line is consistent: she would rather pass something on than keep score. “I prefer drift demos over competitions, as I enjoy teaching others and giving rides,” she said. [1]

EARLY SUCCESS

The R32 Skyline — nicknamed KUSHI — became the build that defined Bell’s early reputation in South Australian car culture. When forum users told her she couldn’t build it rear-wheel drive with an RB26 and full GT-R running gear, she went ahead anyway. She said she was among the first to run an RB26 sump and gearbox in that configuration. [1] The car is now a Custom Importz promotional vehicle. [1]

Her selection for the 2025 World Time Attack Challenge “Yeah The Girls” drift demonstrations — one of 10 women from around the world chosen for the all-women event — came with a characteristically compressed timeline. Bell said she had a month’s notice, so a new car had to be built fast: a 1994 Nissan Silvia S14 fitted with an RB25 engine. [1] The WTAC announcement identified her as an Adelaide driver joining the drift demonstration program. [2]

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2014: Qualified as a mechanic; Custom Importz mechanical business reached six employees. [1]
• 2025: Selected as one of 10 women from around the world for the “Yeah The Girls” drift demonstrations at the World Time Attack Challenge. [1][2]
• 2026: Announced for the “Yeah The” drift lineup at Mayhem After Dark, World Time Attack Challenge, in her RB25-powered Nissan S14. [3]
• Ongoing: Precision and stunt driving credits for Toyota, Honda, Mobil, and Lexus commercials and live shows. [1]

INSPIRATIONS

Bell’s aesthetic influences have been part of her build decisions from the beginning. She said she liked Bee-R Racing bodykits from Japan and chose one for her Skyline after realising no one in Australia had them. [1] It’s the kind of detail that tells you something about how she approaches the whole enterprise — she’s not following a template.

REPUTATION

Exhaust Notes, covering the 2025 World Time Attack Challenge, described Bell and Catherine “DriftCat” Coleiro as “two of the OG’s of women’s drifting” in Australia. [4] That’s not a formal title, but it’s the kind of label that sticks when it’s earned — and in Bell’s case it reflects a career built over years in a scene that didn’t have many women in it when she started. Her R32, her business, her stunt driving work, and now her instructing role with Glitter Gang Drift Club all point to someone who has been at this long enough to have influence beyond the track. [1]

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Bell is confirmed for the “Yeah The” drift lineup at the World Time Attack Challenge’s Mayhem After Dark event in 2026, returning in her Nissan S14. [3] Beyond that specific appearance, she has not stated formal competitive ambitions. In her May 2026 Street Machine interview, she said her preference is for demonstrations over competition — teaching and giving rides is where she finds the value. [1] Her instructing role with Glitter Gang Drift Club appears to be where that preference is taking root in a more structured way. [1]

References:

[1] Street Machine – Kahli Bell 1989 R32 GTS-T Skyline
[2] World Time Attack Challenge – Yeah The Demos: WTAC Drift Demos Get Bigger and Better
[3] World Time Attack Challenge – Mayhem After Dark 2026: Yeah The Drift Stars Announced
[4] Exhaust Notes – 2025 World Time Attack Challenge: No RP968, No Worries