Bluetooth Problems Almost Scuppered BMW's Drifting Record

Drifting a car for over 200 miles isn’t exactly going to be an easy feat to accomplish. Particularly if the company attempting it decides to refuel the car on the move, even if such a thing isn’t even necessary to break the record for the longest ever drift.

That’s what BMW last month, and it looked preposterously difficult. Every few hours a previous-gen M5 drifted up to the record car, and a dude had to lean out the window of the former machine with a special fuel rig and put in as much petrol as possible without a huge accident happening. The cars even hit each other on several occasions.

But there was another factor that threatened to ruin the record attempt, and it’s one that might come as a surprise: Bluetooth. Speaking to The Verge, Johan Schwartz - the man driving the M5 record car - mentioned how the connection between his phone and the infotainment system dropped out, cutting his only line of communication with the rest of the team. “So I had to, while drifting, you know, reset the whole thing, turn the phone off and back on again,” he said. Crikey.

Another serious issue happened about six hours in when the M5 unexpectedly switched back into four-wheel drive mode. But at least the call of nature wasn’t a problem - Schwartz had a catheter fitted…

It all worked out in the end, with Schwartz drifting non-stop for eight hours and covering 232.5 miles - way more than double the previous Guinness World Record.