heres a bit of a more detailed description of what the key elements are

For a car based on Hard Plastic tires, ie abs pipe, yokomo tires, or RP-d's
# 4wd Vehicle? Yes, any 4wd chasis will due, to be honest, the cheaper ones tend to do the job perfectly fine
# Shaft or Belt? Whats the budget? Shaft is cheaper upon inital purchase, but is a bit more costly to maintain. Belt is a good way to go if you dont have any real budget constraints, no torque steer generally lends to better drifts
# ESC? Brushless or brushed, doesnt really matter in this instance, Brushless is fine if you have the money, if you dont, a good 19 turn motor and a Novak XRS esc works great
# Motor? 27-19 turn although the Team Orion Drift Machine 18x3 is really good as well
# Radio?Pistol or stick, whatever YOUR comfortable with
# Tires? ABS pipe, Yokomo Single or double rings, or RP-d's
# Suspension? Soft in the front, medium in the rear, this setting will give you grip in the front and will want to make the back end slide out, although if you get too much oversteer, soft front and soft rear is another good setup to try
# Camber? 0 degrees all around

For Hard Rubber Tires ie, HPI Type A, Pit Shimizu, Yokomo Radials
# 4wd Vehicle? of course, this is a given for any drift car
# Shaft or Belt? shaft is usable for Hard Rubber Radials, but the more linear power curve of belt drives makes belt drive a better choice for this application, although any driver with a heavy trigger finger can drift hard rubber radials with a shaft driven car
# ESC? brushless is often preferred for the power given, but i suggest 12turn motors and below, the team orion 11x3 drift machine motor is good as are the old Hara edtion v2 motors
# Motor? look above
# Radio? pistol or stick, once again, what YOUR comfortalbe with
# Tires?HPI Type A radials, Pit Shimzu D0J8, Yokomo Radials

hope that helps
-randy
# Suspension
# Camber?