Drifting
BMW factory drift - with 1100 hp, but without doors, skirts and co.
Follow the Red Bull Driftbrothers on their 1100 hp drift tour through the BMW plant in Munich - and see their new BMW M2 Drift Competition come to life in spectacular style.
Drifting through the BMW plant in Munich in a brand-new 1100 hp competition car, where precisely calibrated robots and state-of-the-art equipment line the track instead of contact-tested curbs and gravel... Unimaginable. Until someone does it.
Eli in front of his new baby car - the BMW M2 Drift Competition.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
To be allowed to do something so crazy in the heart of BMW was truly a dream.
"It's a project that always makes me wonder whether it was just a dream or whether what we did really happened," says Eli Hountondji with a laugh. The aerospace engineer is the driver and chief engineer of the Red Bull Driftbrothers. For almost two decades, he and his team of nine have been pushing the limits of drifting and, not least, the limits of their drift cars. Check out the clip:
2 min
The BMW factory drift by the Red Bull Driftbrothers
What happens when you let the 1100 hp BMW M2 Drift Competition drift through one of the most modern car factories in the world? Precision meets adrenalin - and a dream becomes reality.
Now, 17 years of drifting experience with the active support of BMW M have resulted in a drift car that will make your mouth water.
01
The BMW M2 Drift Competition: special car, special christening
The Red Bull Driftbrothers are particularly proud of their latest racing baby, the BMW M2 Drift Competition - which is another reason why the action-packed christening ceremony at the BMW plant in Munich was extravagant.
A true competition beast! Eli’s BMW M2 Drift Competition in full glory.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
This drift car is uncompromisingly built for competition!
"Our goal was to build the best-performing car we have ever built. We've achieved that," says a delighted Eli: "Now we want to take it to the top of European drifting." But before their youngest member is unleashed onto the racetracks of the drifting world, it is allowed to introduce itself to the motorsport world in an unprecedented event.
The BMW M2 Drift Competition does its laps at the BMW plant in Munich.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
"It was really something very special to drive and drift between all the wickedly expensive machines," says Eli, shaking his shaved head weeks after the filming in Munich. "To be able to do something so crazy in the heart of BMW was a real dream."
Developed on the basis of the current BMW M2, the Red Bull Driftbrothers spent months assembling the BMW M2 Drift Competition entirely on their own in their workshop in Baden-Württemberg. Eli and his team were supported by a powerful international network of partners - first and foremost BMW M, which also supplies the centrepiece of the BMW M2 Drift Competition: The BMW M S58 engine, whose output Eli and his team have trimmed to 1100 hp compared to the production model. The torque now exceeds the 1,250Nm mark.
This is what the BMW M2 Drift Competition looks like half-naked from above.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
When BMW M developed the S58 engine, they had racing in mind and trimmed it accordingly.
02
Meticulous millimetre work in the engine plant
No question: a horsepower giant like the BMW M2 Drift Competition needs to be properly staged. So the idea of drifting through the BMW plant with the semi-naked drift car and finishing it off component by component en passant is just right. Because if anyone can do the necessary millimetre work in the engine plant in style, it's Elias Hountondji. "The filming was great fun, but not without its challenges," says Eli with a laugh.
Parking at the BMW plant - Red Bull Driftbrothers style.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
There was never too much space or a false floor in any of the scenes.
And so the missing parts of the drift car could be assembled in real time while Eli manoeuvred his BMW M2 Drift Competition through the bodywork: first the bonnet and front apron, then the wings, tailgate and finally the doors.
The stunts that Eli conjured up on the factory floor were just as spectacular as the setting.
Whether it was a 270° parking move out of a narrow aisle in front of a wall full of pipes and machines, or a drone flight through the non-existent doors of the drifting M2, Eli and the film crew on location did the same as the BMW S58 engine installed in the M2 during filming and fired from all cylinders.
Eli drifts through the BMW plant in Munich in the new M2 Drift Competition.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
"The drone manoeuvre demanded everything not only from me as the driver but also from our drone pilot Benno," admits Eli. The result is a perfectly timed, action-packed maiden drift through one of the most famous engine factories in the world.
03
The drift manoeuvres at the BMW plant at a glance
- Precision Drift: The starting signal for the drift action through the BMW plant in Munich was given with a precise drift through an opening gate.
- Donuts: Of course, this cornerstone of lateral driving was not to be missed. Fittingly, Eli spun many a donut around many a pillar in the factory.
- S-curve: Between two moving forklift trucks, Eli drifted his car through a tight passage in a perfect S-curve at one point, demonstrating all his driving finesse and even more experience.
- Parallel Park from a drift: perfect parking from a spirited drift - and with only a few finger-widths of space to a stationary barrier. You have to be able to try it. Eli mastered it on the second attempt!
- Wall-tap drift: Putting the rear of the car against a wall while drifting, but with such precision that you only gently touch the wall, leaving a light streak and continuing the drift unperturbed and with the car intact. The absolute highlight of the spin for Eli.
This is what millimetre work at the engine plant looks like...
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
When the sparks flew at the wall tap, I knew that we had created something really special.
04
Next stop: international points chase
After more than a year of tinkering and fine-tuning in collaboration with BMW M, the Red Bull Driftbrothers are ready to conquer the drifting world with their BMW M2 Drift Competition. "We drove the first tests in June," explains Eli. "If everything continues to run smoothly, the Red Bull Driftbrothers will drive their first contest in the new drift car in early 2026 at the Oman International Drift Championship and start their new Drift Masters season in May 2026. "The car is already right up there in terms of weight, performance and reliability," emphasises Eli: "Now it's time to translate the performance into results."
Elias and his new car are ready to conquer the drifting world.
© Frederick Unflath / Red Bull Content Pool
I hope that the work we have invested will soon bear fruit in competition.
We'll keep our fingers crossed and watch the BMW works drift on a continuous loop until then!