A Porsche Taycan has drifted on ice for nearly 11 miles, beating our previous world record
Porsche has broken the world record for the longest drift on ice, with a continuous 17.503km slide in a Taycan GTS
Records are made to be broken, but we wouldn’t have minded if this one stood a little while longer. Back in 2023, evo’s Richard Meaden took to an ice track in a Skoda Enyaq iV VRS and set a new Guinness World Record for the world’s longest drift on ice, with a continuous 7.351 kilometre (4.56 mile) slide. An impressive feat, but since then a new record was set at 14.809 kilometres, and now Porsche has sealed the deal with a 17.503 kilometre, 46 minute slide.
Porsche Experience instructor Jen Richter set the new benchmark in a Porsche Taycan GTS, completing 132 laps in controlled oversteer on an ice track at Porsche’s Arctic Centre in Levi, Finland. A drift circle was created especially for the run, with spiked Michelin tyres used on both axles of the Taycan.
Initially, Richter used larger spikes and achieved an 11 kilometre slide, but found that they were damaging the ice track too much to continue. He then switched to shorter one millimetre spikes and completed the 17.5 kilometre run when darkness fell and temperatures dropped, giving him a more consistent drifting surface.
The Taycan was fitted with a GPS system to precisely measure G-force and the distance travelled while drifting, but also Richter’s steering, acceleration and braking inputs to ensure that it was in a constant drift.
This latest accolade adds to the Taycan’s previous world records, which include completing the greatest altitude change by an electric car in 2023 (5573 metres), the fastest speed driven in a closed building in 2021 (102mph) and the outright longest drift in an electric vehicle in 2020 (42.171 kilometres).
Speaking on the new record, Jen Richter said: "With our new Guinness World Records title on ice, the Taycan has once again proven its sideways driving qualities. And this time even with all-wheel drive. The fact that the Taycan GTS can be controlled so well even under extreme conditions speaks volumes for its excellent chassis and balanced performance.’
