The 2018 BMW M5 — which is already impressive in its own right with a 600-horsepower engine and 189 mph top speed — has broken two world records for drifting.
The German automaker was able to set the new Guinness World Record for longest vehicle drift on Dec. 11, 2017. Driving instructor Johan Schwartz performed a sustained drift at the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina, lapping around the skid pad for 232 miles in the span of eight hours.
In order to set the world record, the 2018 BMW M5 could not stop and refuel for the full eight hours that was required by Guinness. As such, the performance sedan was equipped with a custom refueling system modeled after the process used by fighter jets while mid-flight. The refueling system was developed by North Carolina-based vehicle fabricator Detroit Speed.
As the 2018 BMW M5 continued to lap around the skidpad, a previous-generation M5 helmed by BMW Performance Center chief driving instructor Matt Mullins drove alongside it. Mullins adapted to Schwartz's driving speed, which allowed Detroit Speed driver Matt Butts to gas up the original car. This process happened five different times.
"Although we practiced the refueling several times before the Guinness World Records title attempt, there was very little margin for error. We're very excited to have played a part in Johan and BMW recapturing this record," said Butts.
BMW was the original title holder of longest vehicle drift when Schwartz set the record of 47.71 miles in 2013. However, the title was snatched from the German automaker when a Toyota 86 attained a sustained drift of 89.5 miles the following year. Now, BMW has regained the title, breaking the previous record by 143 miles.
Not being content with setting one world record, following Schwartz's successful attempt at longest vehicle drift, he and Mullins also rode in parallel drift for 49.25 miles in the span of one hour. This allowed them to set another world record — longest twin-vehicle drift.
