Skoda sets two new drift world records for electric cars
The Skoda Enyaq iV vRS sets sideways records in Sweden with a 4.6-mile continuous drift on a frozen lake
Following its record-setting top speed run at the Bonneville Salt Flats back in 2011, Skoda has once again set a new Guinness World Record, this time for the “Longest Continuous Vehicle Drift on Ice”.
A production-spec Skoda Enyaq iV VRS SUV was used to set the record, with driver Richard Meaden (contributor to Auto Express’s sister title, evo) at the wheel to record a 4.568-mile continuous loop of the 188-metre-long circular lap on the frozen lake Stortjärnen in Sweden.
Skoda also claimed the Guinness World Record for the “Longest Continuous Vehicle Drift on Ice (electric car)” at the same time. Meaden completed 39 laps of the track at the wheel of the Enyaq vRS, equating to a total time of 15 minutes and 58 seconds. The drift beat the previous record of 3.872 miles set in China in 2022.
The attempt saw more than 18 hours of driving, with a Guinness World Record adjudicator and international drifting judge David Kalas both present as witnesses.
Skoda experimented with different tyre configurations for the feat, with the otherwise standard Enyaq vRS wearing front tyres fitted with 5mm studs, while the car’s rear rubber featured smaller 2mm studs to achieve the right balance between grip, traction and the ability to sustain a slide.
Meaden was the driver of Skoda UK’s specially modified Octavia vRS back in 2011 when the car achieved a top speed of 227.080mph, a record for a 2.0-litre forced-induction production car.
Commenting on the latest achievement, Richard Meaden said: “Being back behind the wheel of another record-breaking Škoda is pretty special, going from the Bonneville Salt Flats of the USA to a frozen lake in Scandinavia – setting two different records in two very different cars. I’m incredibly proud to be part of a record-breaking team again 12 years on – who would have thought we’d be here drifting an electric car on ice? It shows just how much the automotive world is changing, and how exciting it is too.”
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