The Porsche Taycan Has Set A Record For The Longest EV Drift

The ‘Turbo S’ may have the power and acceleration bragging rights in the Porsche Taycan family, but when it comes to going very sideways, the entry-level version is the tool for the job. The base rear-wheel drive version of the car, which develops 402bhp or 469bhp depending on the battery specced, is now the proud holder of the Guinness World Record for the longest drift in an electric vehicle.

Top Gear’s Chris Harris set an impressive benchmark of 18 laps or 2.1 miles on an irrigated skin pan at the Hockenheim Porsche Experience Centre, before Porsche instructor Dennis Retera smashed that effort by holding a skid for 26.2 miles (42.17km). Rude.

Retera clocked 210 laps and was drifting for 55 minutes at an average speed of 28.5mph. Guinness official record judge Joanne Brent was on-sight to make sure everything was above board, with GPS and raw rate sensors plus a bunch of cameras used to keep track of the endeavour.

With this rear-driven Taycan, Retera reckons power sliding is “extremely easy”. He said: “Sufficient power is always available. The low centre of gravity and the long wheelbase ensure stability. The precise design of the chassis and steering allows for perfect control at all times, even when moving sideways.”

Porsche has been notching up various headline-grabbing feats with its Taycan, including a 2128-mile 24-hour endurance run at the Nardo Ring, and a 7min 42sec Nurburgring Nordschleife lap. The latter was bettered by a Tesla Model S, albeit an extensively modified triple-motor version which is yet to go into production.

The Taycan won’t be gunning for the outright drifting record any time soon, though. BMW managed 232.5 sideways miles in an M5 a few years ago, by using an incredible car-to-car refuelling system during the run. Something similar with the Taycan would likely result in an incredibly tangled extension lead.