2000 M5 still holds the New York to LA record!

In 1983, Doug Turner and David Diem set the world record for the quickest journey from New York to Los Angeles in a car. Their time was 32 hours and 7 minutes, and was set in a Ferrari 308.

That doesn't sound too quick, but let's remember that this is over 2,800 miles!! To achieve this, their average speed must have been over 87 miles per hour - refuelling including stops and the odd traffic light!

For years, Alex Roy, an American Rally driver, dreamt of beating this record. After numerous attempts, he finally achieved his dream in 2006, setting a new record at 31 hours and 4 minutes. But this was no easy feat. Let's just look at the car alone. He drove a modified E39 M5, which had, to name a few, the following custom options fitted:

20-gallon reserver fuel tank, Tasco 8 x 40 binoculars fitted with a Kenyon KS-2 gyro stabilizer, military spec Steiner 7 x 50 binoculars, Hummer H1-style bumper-mounted L-3 Raytheon NightDriver thermal camera and LCD dashboard screens, front-and-rear-mounted sensors for a Valentine One radar/laser detector, flush bumper-mount Blinder M40 laser jammers, redundant Garmin StreetPilot 2650 GPS units, preprogrammed Uniden police radio scanners, ceiling-mount Uniden CB radio with high-gain whip antenna.
That is a lot of gear - and all of it was for one purpose: to avoid detection by the police.

Back in 1983 when the original record was set, Diem and Turner had no such problems to deal with. That's why it took so long to beat this record! Alex Roy needed a full-time co-pilot sitting next to him, looking out for the police and other dangers, and a spotter airplane overhead, scanning the hundreds of miles ahead of him.

To fail would mean jail time, outrageous fines, the loss of his licence, and the loss of another chance at beating the record. Roy's car is a V8 manual 2000 BMW M5, wth the 155-mph limiter taken off and a barage of night vision and thermal gear added. After three failed attempts, Alex Roy finally managed to beat the original record set in 1983 in 2006. His average speed, including the 5 refueling stops: 91.45 mph. There have been four other known attempts by other cars since then, but as of January of 2011, the record of Roy and his M5 still stands as the fastest time.