Watch: Porsche Taycan Drifts for 42 Km to Set a Guinness Record
Two years ago, a BMW M5 obliterated a Guinness World Record for the “Greatest distance vehicle drift” with a mark of 374 kilometres. No one had ever attempted to do the same thing in an electric car, however.
Until now, that is. The Porsche Taycan is the new king of EV drifting.
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The record-setting event took place recently at the Porsche Experience Centre near the Hockenheimring, in Germany. PEC chief instructor Dennis Retera kept the Taycan sideways for 210 laps, covering a total distance of 42.171 kilometres—exactly like a marathon. The session lasted 55 minutes, which represents an average speed of 45 km/h.
Guinness World Records officials were on hand along with 2018-201919 European drifting champion Denise Ritzmann. Their job was to check if the front tires ever pointed in the same direction as the curve.
"I concentrated on controlling the drift with the steering—this is more efficient than using the accelerator pedal and reduces the risk of spinning,” Retera later said.
Purists will say this wasn’t really drifting since there were sprinklers keeping the track wet and low-traction at all times, instead of the usual tire-screaming, smoke-generating spectacle, but the Guinness record makes no distinction between the two.
Incidentally, the Porsche Taycan that was used for this feat was a rear-wheel-drive model, which is not available in North America yet. We only have access to models with all-wheel drive. However, the company is considering the possibility of offering the RWD option in the future.
