Back in 2012, professional golfer Jake Shepherd set the Guinness World Record for the “farthest golf shot caught in a moving car,” by hitting a ball into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster driven by former F1 racer David Coulthard. The accomplishment stood for nearly nine years, but was broken as of April 8 2021, and instead of a Mercedes, this time a BMW was used to set the record.
The BMW in question is the fastest open-top model the brand currently sells, the M8 Competition convertible, and British BMW Motorsport driver Paul O’Neill was behind the wheel. The man driving the ball was professional golfer Marcus Armitage, of Salford England, who turned professional in 2008 and has since captured three European Tour wins, with the most recent having come in 2015. The 2012 record for the farthest golf shot caught by a moving car was 273 yards, which was broken by O’neill and Armitage with a distance of 303 yards.
According to BMW, the 4,560-poound M8 Competition convertible can accelerate from zero to 60 in 3.1 seconds. That capability comes courtesy of the S63 M TwinPower Turbo V8, which is rated at 617 horsepower from 5,600 to 6,700 rpm and 553 pound-feet of torque from 1,800 to 5,800, paired with M xDrive, which routes motivation to all four wheels. In addition to helping the M8 Competition get up to speed to catch the golf ball, disabling M xDrive and sending power exclusively to the rear wheels also served as the perfect way to celebrate the broken record. The BMW needs a new windshield after the feat, and might require some paint-less dent repair too, but these are some of the costs of setting a new world record.
The M8 Competition convertible was technologically matched on the other side of the equation by the Callaway Epic driver, which Armitage used to hit his shot. Built with a new Jailbreak A.I. Speed Frame, the Callaway Epic line of drivers is at the leading edge of golf innovation, allowing for greater forgiveness and distance in a single club.
Check out the video below to see how one of BMW’s most capable models helped break the record.—Alex Tock
[Photo courtesy of BMW AG. Video courtesy the PGA European Tour.]