How long can you sustain a drift? A brief powerslide coming out of a corner? Perhaps all the way through the bend, or if you’re Keiichi Tsuchiya, maybe even an entire track. But you’re gonna need to hold it sideways a lot longer than that to break the world record for the longest sustained drift, which currently stands at a whopping 82.524 km – longer than the distance between Kuala Lumpur and Seremban.
However, BMW claims it has done just that, using a new F90 M5 to slide into the record books. No details have been revealed just yet, but the company has shown a new teaser video ahead of the full film’s release tomorrow, so you won’t have to wait too long to find out just how far the big super sedan travelled sideways.
Those who watched the video would’ve noticed that the F90 was being followed by a previous-gen F10 M5, and that’s due to the unique technique BMW used to sustained the drift – mid-drift refuelling.
One shot shows a person sticking out of the F10’s rear window holding a refuelling hose, and if you look closely at the rear quarter light window of the F90, you’ll see what appears to be a specially-designed fuel filler neck that would make refuelling the vehicle quicker and easier. The need to top up the tank mid-drift suggests that this will be a very long record run indeed.
It’s no surprise that the new F90 M5 was used to break the record, given that the previous benchmark was set by an F10 M5 on the skidpad at the BMW Performance Centre in Greenville, South Carolina – likely the exact same place used here – in the hands of performance driving instructor Johan Schwartz. The new car’s knack for going sideways was already showcased in a BMW UK video last week.
Of course, the record for the longest ever drift should still belong to South African motoring journalist Jesse Adams, who drifted a Toyota 86 for a total of five hours and 46 minutes. His record of 165.04 km – yes, you read that right – did, however, include changes in direction, with the drift remaining valid so long as the rear tyres were still spinning.
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Tandem drift refueling? Hmm… cud be a new category for D1 Grand prix tag team battle, 2 vs 2.
I wish I was a German. I can then feel proud of my local car products…oh wai
Not really proud of dieselgate & DSGgate. i wish the VW Germans were more true to their ancestral traits.
tyres don’t get burnout meh?
Smooth concrete surface thats kept wet all the time.
The record need 2 elements to be in harmony to achieve ie driver’s skills & cars(M5). In this case, U need 2 professional drifters to accomplish the feat but the M5’s took the honor.
Can this video be a success without Keiichi Tsuchiya & its crews ??!
can they do longest drift in classic old m5 of the 1980s without all the electronic aids or 4 wheel steering thingy etc ^^
ehm.
The mid drift refueling isn’t even the most impressive feat.
How the hell did they manage to get the tyres to last that long???? even in the wet? What manner of hockey pucks did they use?
I used to wear out the rubbers even during ice racing and snow drifting.
Less acute angle of drift. The car was as close to horizontal as possible, therefore the rear tyres r running as close to its natural line as possible. This unlike those burn rubber touge style drifting.