On 11th December 2017, BMW driving instructor Johan Schwartz drifted an all new BMW M5 sedan 374km around a skid pad at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, SC, setting a new Guinness World Records title for the Greatest distance vehicle drift in 8 hours. Schwartz shattered the previous record by 230km.
Schwartz broke the Guinness World Records title for Longest continuous vehicle drift on 11th May 11 2013 when he drifted an unmodified 2013 BMW M5 sedan for 82.5km also at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, SC. Since then, Schwartz's record was broken twice - officially in 2013, then 2014.
In order to accomplish these feats and set new Guinness World Records titles, BMW partnered with North Carolina-based automotive fabricators Detroit Speed to develop a custom dry break fuel system capable of refuelling the BMW M5 mid-drift in the same way that fighter jets can refuel mid-flight.
The resulting fueling system allowed Schwartz to drift continuously for the entire eight hours allocated by Guinness World Records.
"We knew going in that if we were going to recapture the world record for longest sustained drift and set the bar as high as possible, we would need to find a way to keep the M5 going without stopping to refuel," said Schwartz. "In the end, the refuelling system worked flawlessly and the M5 performed as expected. It was a big win all-around."
