90 miles sideways

German drifter spends nearly two and a half hours on the lock stops in a GT86 to smash record

PH recently got a few tips from five of the best on how to send and keep a car sideways. However, we're small fry compared to drifter Harald 'Harry' Muller, for the German has just set a new world record for the longest continuous drift at a dizzying - literally - 89.55 miles.

Muller eclipsed the previous record of 51.2 miles notched up by Johan Schwartz in a BMW M5 last May by a healthy 38 miles.

While Schwartz had 560hp and, more importantly, 501lb ft of torque from the M5's 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, according to Guinness World Records, Muller had just 200hp and 151lb ft of torque to play with from the standard 2.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-four Toyota GT86 motor.

The first attempt failed, but once Muller had the GT86 hooked up, he continued the slide for 612 laps of the 235.5-metre circular course, taking two hours, 25 minutes and 18 seconds to complete the record. Even though the circuit was soaked, the tyres were toast, as you can well imagine. Independent witness and King of Europe Drift judge Gorkem Cosgun was there to verify the July 15 record, set in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Samsun, Turkey.

Muller's new claim to fame is actually the second title the GT86 now holds when it comes to oversteering expertise. Last September Polish driver Jakub 'Kuba' Przygonski (they all have nicknames...) set the benchmark for the fastest drift in his GT86 at a speed of 135.44mph on the runway of Biala Podlaska airport, Warsaw.

However, he had a bit more power to play with. An engine swap to a 2JZ Toyota Supra motor stroked to 3.4 litres in capacity, plus a Garrett GTX4202R turbo among other mods meant Kuba had 1,086hp and 723lb ft of torque to torture the rear tyres with - plus another 325hp hit of nitrous oxide if he fancied it.

We're starting to think we should book a GT86 in again.