While this piece of news may not be strictly pertaining to cutting edge automobile technology, it is of worthy acknowledgement. German automobile giant BMW recently set a Guinness World Record for the longest drift in the new BMW M5. Performed by BMW's in-house expert and instructor Johan Schwartz, the now-longest drift ever was performed in eight hours, over sustained drift distance of 374.2 kilometres.
The slew of records achieved here also include a twin-car drift, where Matt Mullins, chief driving instructor of BMW Performance Centre joined Schwartz in performing a twin-vehicle drift over total distance of 79.3 kilometres in one hour. The twin-car drift record also facilitated the custom refuelling system developed by BMW to achieve this record, which allowed for mid-drift refuelling. Designed in collaboration with Detroit Speed, the custom refuelling system was modelled after the in-flight refuelling model of fighter jets.
The refuelling involved a second BMW M5, which matched and synchronised with Schwartz's drifting speed to draw parallel to the main car. The refuelling effort was then executed manually from the second car to the first. While this is not a new piece of technology per se, and is certainly not one that will be relevant to customers, it is still an impressive feat, and an acknowledgement of how exciting performance cars can truly be.
To enjoy the full show of this record-breaking feat, watch the video below.