Porsche Taycan RWD slides into a new Guinness World Record – longest drift with an EV at 42.171 km

The Porsche Taycan has managed to set a new world record for the longest drift with an electric vehicle, covering a total distance of 42.171 km. This was achieved at the seventh Porsche Experience Centre (PEC) in the world at the Hockenheimring, with instructor Dennis Retera at the wheel, and verified by Guinness World Records official Joanne Brent.

On an irrigated, 200-metre-long drift circle, Retera managed an average speed of 46 km/h, completing 210 laps in 55 minutes, only coming to a stop when the batteries were drained. The Taycan used in the record attempt was a pre-production unit equipped with a rear-wheel drive powertrain, which is currently on sale in China, but has yet to be confirmed for European markets.

“When the driving stability programmes are switched off, a powerslide with the electric Porsche is extremely easy, especially of course with this model variant, which is driven exclusively via the rear wheels,” said Retera. “Sufficient power is always available. The low centre of gravity and the long wheelbase ensure stability. The precise design of the chassis and steering allows for perfect control at all times, even when moving sideways,” he added.

The feat certainly wasn’t easy, as Top Gear’s Chris Harris had a go before Retera and only managed an official 18 laps. “Nevertheless, it was also very tiring for me to keep my concentration high for 210 laps, especially as the irrigated asphalt of the drift circuit does not provide the same grip everywhere. I concentrated on controlling the drift with the steering – this is more efficient than using the accelerator pedal and reduces the risk of spinning,” noted Retera.

To ensure full compliance with Guinness World Records requirements, every aspect of the attempt was meticulously documented. Before the test, a local land surveyor measured the 80-metre diameter area of the with millimetre precision, while data from GPS and yaw rate sensors within the vehicle were recorded, as was a camera installed on the roof of the track’s control tower.

An independent expert, Denise Ritzmann, was also on-site to confirm the standard and roadworthy condition of the Taycan on behalf of testing organisation DEKRA. “You can see at a glance whether the front wheels are pointing in a different direction to the curve. As long as this is the case, the car is drifting,” she explained.

Aside from holding the title for the world’s longest drift with an electric vehicle, the Taycan also has records in other disciplines, including a 24-hour endurance run over 3,425 km on the high-speed track in Nardo, the fastest road-legal EV on the Nurburgring Nordschleife with a time of seven minutes and 42 seconds, and 26 sprints from a standing start to 200 km/h at the airfield in Lahr.

If you’re curious about which internal combustion engine car holds the record for the world’s longest drift, that honour belongs to the F90 BMW M5, with Danish racing driver Johan Schwartz sliding the sports sedan to 374.17 km, beating the previous record of 165.04 km set by South African motoring journalist Jesse Adams in a Toyota GT86.

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