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A report in The Drive makes the case for the old-fashioned hand brake, pointing to the custom drift brake developed for the RTR Mustang as a modern example of its use. The piece argues that a mechanical lever can do more for deliberate rear-wheel traction control than an electronic parking-brake switch, though it does not establish how widely the feature will be offered.
Ford and RTR’s Mustang drift brake has brought renewed attention to the old-fashioned hand brake, according to a first-person report published by The Drive. The writer says the custom lever preserves a driver-operated way to engage the rear brakes and deliberately unsettle the car—an ability that, in the writer’s view, an electronic parking-brake button does not provide.
The report recounts the writer’s experience at Ford’s ST Octane Academy, a driving school offered to buyers of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST. During a timed autocross-style course, participants drove cars fitted with custom drift brakes. The levers operated the rear brakes but, unlike standard hand brakes, had no latch: when released, they returned to the off position. That made them useful for initiating a slide, not for holding the car on a hill while parked.
The writer says an especially tight 180-degree turn on the course called for a j-turn, making the drift brake part of the exercise. At the time, the writer regarded sliding as slow and the feature as a gimmick that could level the competition. A decade later, after changing their view of the RTR Mustang, the writer says they have come to appreciate the lever as a way to manage traction and as a source of driving enjoyment.
The report’s central point is that electronic parking brakes can perform the routine task of keeping a parked car still but do not offer the same immediate, physical control of the rear brakes. The writer describes traditional pull-handle parking brakes as increasingly rare, including in the shrinking number of cars with manual transmissions. The account is an argument for the feature’s usefulness, not a survey of current car models or a technical comparison of braking systems.
A Lever for More Driver Control
The hand brake matters to some drivers for more than parking. A mechanical lever gives the driver a direct control that can be used deliberately in low-speed maneuvers, including the kind of rear-wheel slide described in the Academy exercise. That is distinct from a parking brake’s basic role of keeping a stationary vehicle from rolling.
The story also points to a broader trade-off in modern car design: replacing physical controls with electronic switches can save space and may reduce complexity, but it can remove functions that enthusiasts value. The report does not quantify how many drivers want a hand brake or claim that electronic systems are inadequate for ordinary parking. Its case is narrower: a control can have recreational and driving uses beyond its original parking purpose.
Ford and RTR’s work is notable to the writer because it brings that capability back into a contemporary Mustang through a purpose-built drift brake. It suggests that automakers and aftermarket partners can retain a mechanical control when there is a clear use for it, even as conventional parking-brake levers become less common.
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From ST Academy to RTR Mustang
The report draws on two points in the writer’s experience. Roughly a decade before writing, the writer bought a new Ford Fiesta ST and attended ST Octane Academy, a day-long program combining classroom instruction, track driving and autocross. The course included a timed runoff, and modified cars used for the exercise had drift brakes rather than ordinary latched hand brakes.
The writer later reassessed the feature while considering Ford’s Mustang lineup and the RTR Mustang. The report notes the writer’s disappointment that the EcoBoost Mustang lost its manual transmission with the S650 redesign, while saying the RTR’s drift brake no longer seemed like a gimmick. It frames both a manual gearbox and a hand brake as forms of driver involvement that can disappear as cars change.
“It’s one of those things whose utility is made more obvious by its absence.”
— The Drive report’s writer
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How Far the Feature Will Reach
The source does not say whether the RTR drift brake will be offered across Mustang models, on other Ford vehicles or as a broadly available option. It also provides no technical specifications, pricing, production figures or independent assessment of how the system performs compared with other ways of controlling a car.
The account is a personal report and does not establish how many current cars retain conventional hand brakes, or why manufacturers have removed them in particular cases. It also does not suggest that a drift brake is appropriate for public-road driving; the described use took place during a supervised driving-school exercise.
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Availability and Future Applications
The report identifies no upcoming product announcement, production change or follow-up test. The next concrete development to watch would be information from Ford or RTR on the drift brake’s availability, fitment and intended use. Until then, the feature stands as a specific example of a custom control in the Mustang, rather than evidence that traditional hand brakes are returning broadly.
For readers choosing a car, the practical next step is to check the equipment list for the exact model and trim: a manual transmission does not necessarily mean the car has a conventional hand brake. The report’s closing personal detail is that its writer finished third in the Academy autocross, and says the result still stings a little.
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Key Questions
What is a drift brake?
A drift brake is a lever that engages a car’s rear brakes to help initiate a slide. In the system described by The Drive, it springs back to the off position instead of latching like a conventional parking brake.
How is it different from an electronic parking brake?
The report says an electronic parking-brake switch is suitable for holding a parked car but does not provide the same lever-operated control the writer values for managing rear-wheel traction. It does not include a technical comparison of specific systems.
Was the drift brake used on public roads?
The source describes its use during Ford’s ST Octane Academy, in a supervised autocross-style exercise. It does not describe or recommend using the feature for sliding a car on public roads.
Does the report say hand brakes are returning to new cars?
No. It highlights the RTR Mustang’s custom drift brake as an example of the function surviving in a modern car, but gives no evidence of a wider return or broader availability.
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