A Porsche Taycan just beat the world record for EV drifting

Driving instructor Dennis Retera just slid right into pole position in the Guinness Book of World Records for drifting in an electric vehicle, Engadget reports. Using a Porsche Taycan, Retera completed a clean drift for 55 minutes over a mind-blowing distance of 26.2 miles — an unheard-of accomplishment for a fully electric vehicle.

Luckily Porsche captured the entire experience on video so we can watch it unfold. The video doubles as some handy promotional material for the Taycan line, which is the first fully electric car for Porsche. It's enough to make even the staunchest of sportscar fans and EV skeptics into fans.

“No one has ever attempted this with a battery-powered vehicle,” said Brian Propfe, director of the Taycan product line at Porsche. “So today is all about the question: ‘Does the car deliver what it promises? Is it really the sportiest battery-powered vehicle?’”

Given that the drift was ultimately successful, we’d say the Taycan does deliver on its promises... and then some.

Not the longest ever, but still — The Taycan’s drift record is mighty impressive — assuming drifting is more difficult in real life than in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — doing so for nearly an hour would be a feat requiring both intense focus and a vehicle with really incredible handling.

The new record is only for electric vehicles. That’s spectacular, given how far electric vehicles have come in the last few years — who would’ve thought we’d watch an all-electric Porsche do this already? — but the overall record is much further. The longest drift ever was completed by a BMW M5 over an astounding 8 hours and 232.5 miles.

Take a look at this thing — Porsche took its sweet time releasing a line of all-electric vehicles, and for good reason. The Taycan isn’t just any electric vehicle — it’s a highly polished experience that lives up to the Porsche name.

Porsche isn’t exactly pulling the same sales numbers as the likes of Tesla; a little less than 5,000 Taycans were delivered in the first half of 2020. Launching an electric vehicle in the midst of a pandemic could have had something to do with these numbers, as well as the car’s starting price of $152,000. Not exactly an everyday car for the average person.

2020 has been a huge year for electric vehicles, especially for brands that haven’t traditionally taken part in the market. Even the iconic Hummer has made its way back into the fold in all-electric form. If this is a hint at our electrified motoring future, we're all for it.