RTR unveils 910-horsepower 'Twerk Horse' Mustang for T-Pain's Nappy Boy Automotive at GRIDLIFE Laguna

RTR Vehicles pulled the cover off its latest custom build during GRIDLIFE Laguna Festival Friday, unveiling the “Twerk Horse,” a 2026 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D commissioned by T-Pain for Nappy Boy Automotive co-founder Hert, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Created as a surprise gift for Hert to celebrate the three-year anniversary of Nappy Boy Automotive’s debut at the GRIDLIFE Laguna Festival, the RTR-built Twerk Horse pairs a supercharged Ford Racing 910-HP powerplant with components from several brands already embedded within the GRIDLIFE ecosystem.

he build features custom coilovers from BC Racing, the Official Suspension of GRIDLIFE DRIFT, and outfitted in Falken Azenis tires from Falken Tire, the Official Tire of ClubTR and ClubSC. Inside, Kinetic, the Official Seat of the GRIDLIFE Forza Horizon 6 Arcade, supplies the seats, while 2026 GRIDLIFE Season Partner Nappy Boy Automotive helped bring the project to life alongside RTR.

The Twerk Horse will make its on-track debut during GRIDLIFE DRIFT’s full-course sessions throughout the weekend, sending the 910-horsepower Mustang sideways through the iconic Corkscrew.

The reveal also marks the second consecutive GRIDLIFE event to serve as the stage for a major new vehicle debut. During GRIDLIFE Circuit Legends at Lime Rock Park in August, Toyota selected the festival for the U.S. public debut of the GRMN Corolla. RTR and Nappy Boy Automotive continued that momentum into the season finale.

“The best partnerships at GRIDLIFE become part of the experience, and this is a perfect example of that,” said Patrick Daugherty, GRIDLIFE Vice President of Partnerships. “This build brings together four of our partners in an authentic way, and now it’s being unveiled at GRIDLIFE and going straight onto the track. That’s exactly the kind of collaboration we want to create with our partners."

The Twerk Horse will make its on-track debut during GRIDLIFE DRIFT’s full-course sessions throughout the weekend, sending the 910-horsepower Mustang sideways through the iconic Corkscrew.

For Nappy Boy Automotive, the Laguna Seca debut also brings the story full circle. T-Pain and Hert launched Nappy Boy Automotive at GRIDLIFE Laguna in 2023, and a year ago, T-Pain teamed up with RTR founder Vaughn Gittin Jr. and RTR Vehicles to secretly develop the Mustang as a surprise for Hert.

The timing proved almost impossible to script. Just one weekend before the scheduled reveal, the car Hert had driven for 16 years broke, leaving him without a drift car for the GRIDLIFE season finale. By then, the Twerk Horse was already complete, tested and headed for Laguna Seca for the surprise.

“We can’t write these stories, there’s no way that a car he was driving for 16 years just breaks,” T-Pain joked. “He [Hert] was the most surprised, now he has a full, complete car to finish the season and take over the world.”

Fans unable to make it to Laguna Seca can watch the Twerk Horse’s on-track debut as part of GRIDLIFE’s live coverage throughout the weekend on the GRIDLIFE YouTube channel.

GRIDLIFE Laguna Festival closes out the 2026 GRIDLIFE racing season with three days of competition and music at the historic 2.24-mile WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. 

GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Time Attack, GRIDLIFE RUSH Series, Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup and GRIDLIFE GT are joined by nearly 50 GRIDLIFE Drift cars, while the weekend also features the Miata Reunion, Dodge Drift Thrill Rides, the Forza Horizon 6 Arcade, drift karts, EDM music festival, DJs and additional activities throughout the paddock and Lakebed festival area.

Click here to get tickets, and here to check out the event schedule. Catch the broadcast here.