Porsche just set the world record for longest drift with an electric vehicle. While BMW still holds the record for the longest continuous drift with a gas-powered car, Porsche put a more eco-friendly spin on the feat by attempting it in a rear-drive version of its Taycan EV—a variant it currently sells in markets such as China.
The record was set at the Porsche Experience Center in Hockenheim, Germany. Instructor Dennis Retera took to a wet, 200-meter (approximately 656-f0ot) radius skidpad in a Taycan and drifted it for 55 minutes continuously. Retera covered 26.2 miles (the exact distance of a marathon) “without the front wheels ever pointing in the same direction of the curve.” In layman’s terms, he was drifting the entire time.
Porsche’s new world record was completed under the supervision of Guinness World Records official record judge Joanne Brent, and both GPS and yaw rate sensors were installed in the car to make sure the record was legitimate. Denise Ritzman, a former drifting champion in 2018 and 2019, was also on hand to ensure the roadworthiness of the Taycan used. After all, someone outside of Porsche had to make sure this Taycan wasn’t some skunkworks special made specifically for record-breaking purposes.
BMW’s current drift record sits at a whopping 232.5 miles, nearly 10 times as long as the Taycan’s drift. But there was pretty much no way an EV was going to be able to drift for that long. Blame the thorny problem of an EV’s limited range. (In fact, BMW had to figure out a way to refuel its car mid-drift in order to achieve its record-breaking feat.) Although Porsche’s drifting record is less impressive than BMW’s, the brand’s decision to shoot for an EV-specific record opens the door to more potential EV feats.
It’s only a matter of time until the Lotus Evija, Rimac C2, or Tesla Roadster attempts to claim the records for “fastest EV” or “most people fit into a single EV” or some other nonsense. And who knows? Maybe BMW will have a go at the longest drift record with its upcoming i4 electric sedan. We wager the world record battles among EVs are just getting started.
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