BMW put together a series of videos with all sorts of valuable information, like teaching the audience how to do a number of things, drifting being one of them. Back then though, the car they used for the video was a BMW M4, which is, by definition, a rear-wheel drive model. But what about newer cars, what about cars fitted with the M xDrive all-wheel drive system? Can they drift?
The short answer is: yes. That’s because the BMW M division knew that if it wanted fans of the brand to continue buying M cars with all-wheel drive, it had to find a way to allow them to do skids. The solution came in the shape of M xDrive which is an all-wheel drive system that allows you to cut the power sent to the front axle altogether. How? Using some magical gremlins, no doubt.
There were, of course, other carmakers offering similar choices before BMW but there are some noticeable differences. For example, other systems only offer a ‘Drift Mode’ in which power is sent to the rear wheels only in 1,2 and 3 gear. However, the BMW system offers a RWD setup in all gears, at all speeds. So, how do you drift such a car? To show us, BMW brought a together a BMW M8 and a BMW Driving Instructor: Stefan Landmann.
As you’re about to see, all you need to do is keep the DSC button pressed for 3 seconds. After that the car will warn you that the system has been turned off. It will also display a sub-menu, allowing you to choose your preferred driving mode, between 4WD, 4WD Sport and RWD. Understandably, you’ll want to stick with RWD. After that, all you have to do is drift. If you don’t know how to do that, check out this video.
