World Record Vehicle "Drifting" Set at BMW Track

A driver at the BMW Performance Center in Greer on Saturday broke the world's record for vehicle "drifting," which was verified by a representative from the Guinnes Book of World Records, the auto company said.

If you're a fan of the American version of the History Channel show, Top Gear, chances are you are well aware of what drifting is. If not, here's how it's described by Wikipedia:

"Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. A car is drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle, to such an extent that often the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa)."

The world record was set Saturday by BMW performance driving instructor Johan Schwartz in a stock-standard rear-wheel-drive twin-turbocharged V8-powered BMW F10 M5. The driver drifted 51.278 miles, or 322.5 laps around the performance center's closed track.

Proceeds from the event, the amount of which was not reported, will benefit charities in this year's BMW Pro-Am Golf Tournament set to begin later this week. 

You can check out video of Schwartz and his drift car from WSPA here.