By Jordan Grim • October 25, 2025 • 8:01 AM (PDT)
By Jordan Grim • October 25, 2025 • 8:01 AM (PDT)
It takes guts to drift a rear-wheel-drive BMW with over 1,000 hp inside a multi-million dollar factory.
Last month, VW celebrated the Polo’s legacy with a gymkhana-style video featuring WRC and RX1e rallycross models drifting in one of their factories. Not to be outdone, BMW has now handed the keys to a 1,100 hp M2 to professional drifter Elias Hountondji and let him lay down some black lines in their Munich production hall.
Hountondji, a member of the Red Bull-backed “Driftbrothers,” has honed his technique behind the wheel of modified BMWs for years, balancing throttle, steering, and nerve in tight, high-speed slides that pass dangerously close to obstacles.
However, even for him, drifting in BMW’s own factory was a huge challenge. A single miscalculation could have resulted in a collision with machinery worth more than most race cars.
Hountondji, a member of the Red Bull-backed “Driftbrothers,” has honed his technique behind the wheel of modified BMWs for years, balancing throttle, steering, and nerve in tight, high-speed slides that pass dangerously close to obstacles.
However, even for him, drifting in BMW’s own factory was a huge challenge. A single miscalculation could have resulted in a collision with the machinery, which is worth more than most race cars.
Most of the drifting action appears to have been performed at relatively low speeds, minimizing the risk (but not eliminating it entirely). Hauntodji can be seen sliding just a few feet from one of the assembly lines, spinning the rear wheels and leaving thick black tire marks on the factory floor.
The Driftbrothers are in the process of perfecting their new M2 ahead of next year’s Drift Masters European Championship. The current M2’s flagship road-going version, the CS, delivers a respectable 523 hp, but this drift car boasts more than double that power. Furthermore, it produces a massive 922 lb-ft (1,250 Nm) of torque and is rear-wheel drive.
Like the road car, this drifter also uses BMW’s S58 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six engine, but it now features a modified block, larger turbochargers, and an upgraded cooling system. It also has exhaust pipes exiting where the rear window would normally be.