Anyone can drive but drifting? That’s an artform and BMW has taken it to an extreme by setting not one but two new world records for drifting.
The new BMW M5 set the Guinness world record for the longest recorded drift over a screeching eight hours, racking up exactly 232.5 miles during the non-stop drift – that’s almost 90 miles more than the previous record (143 miles).
BMW instructor Johan Schwartz performed the sustained drift at BMW’s Performance Center in Greer, South Carolina on a so-called skid pad.
Drifting for that obviously gulps through buckets and buckets of petrol so to make an eight-hour drift possible, BMW teamed up with North Carolina-based company Detroit Speed to develop a custom-built refuelling system.
That sounds kinda fancy but it essentially boiled down to a man leaning out of the rear passenger window of another M5 and pretty much pouring the fuel into the drifting M5’s fuel tank.
It sounds dangerous and going off comments from Detroit Speed’s test car manager Matt Butts, it was.
“Although we practiced the refuelling several times before the Guinness world record title attempt, there was very little margin for error,” said Mr Butts. “We’re very excited to have played a part in Johan and BMW recapturing this record.”
As if all this wasn’t impressive enough, BMW set a second world record for the longest twin vehicle water-assisted drift with two M5s drifting together for one hour, covering a total of 49.25 miles.
Watch highlights from the BMW M5’s eight-hour drift:
See how the feat was made possible in this behind the scenes clip:
If this amazing record attempt hasn’t left you lost for words, tell us what you think down there in the comments section.
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