31 of the strangest motoring world records

Motoring world records

Strongman Troy Conley has entered the record books by pulled 16 Hyundai Konas using a harness strapped to his body. By doing so, Conley raised money for the Hyundai Help For Kids charity – and earned himself another Guinness World Record. “I enjoy it, that’s the crazy part,” said Conley, before admitting he has a “high pain threshold”.

Duly inspired, we’ve been perusing the pages of the Guinness World Records for more motoring madness. Here are some of the greatest – and strangest – world records we found.

Pulling 16 cars at once

Hang on, though, we’re not done with Troy Conley yet. The Australian beefcake also pulling five Hyundai Kona SUVs using only his teeth. Apparently, the feat left his mouth looking ‘bloodied and sore’. You have been warned, kids.

Longest production car wheelie

There are plenty of surprising stats for the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. It develops 852hp. It hits 62mph in 2.3 seconds. And it generates 1.8g while accelerating. Perhaps the coolest number, though, is 0.89 metres. That’s how far the Demon travelled with its front wheels off the ground, earning it the record for ‘The longest wheelie from a standing start in a production car’.

World’s fastest lawnmower

Yes, there’s a world record for the fastest lawn mower. Meet the Honda ‘Mean Mower’, with a power-to-weight ratio superior to a Bugatti Chiron. It’s powered by a 200hp Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP superbike engine and can sprint from zero to 100mph in just 6.29 seconds.

Fastest car in space

In February 2018, Elon Musk launched his Tesla Roadster upwards and set a Guinness World Record for the fastest car in space. At the wheel was a mannequin dressed in a full space suit, complete with a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Largest parade of hybrid cars

Meanwhile, back on terra firma, Panek CarSharing of Poland holds the Guinness World Record for the largest parade of hybrid cars. A total of 339 cars lined up in Warsaw in 2017. There are countless records for parades of certain makes or models, but nobody has set one for the largest parade of Dacia Dusters. Give it time.

Fastest time for a full body car wrap

In 2018, Folien and Zubehor of Germany set a Guinness World Record for the fastest time to complete a full body car wrap. The team wrapped a Tesla Model X in 22 minutes 56.25 seconds. If they didn’t shout “It’s a wrap!” at the end, they should give themselves a good talking to.

Longest car

Jay Ohrberg set this Guinness World Record way back in 1986, when his 30.5 metre, 26-wheeled limo was declared the world’s longest car. It features a swimming pool, a king-size waterbed and space for your helicopter. Good luck parallel parking this one.

Hairiest car

Apologies if you’re eating your dinner, but this Fiat 500 holds the Guinness World Record for the hairiest car. Amazingly, it is covered with 120kg of human hair. The record has stood for some time, so it’s far from a case of hair today and gone tomorrow.

The heaviest vehicle pulled by hair

Sticking with matters of a hairy nature, you really couldn’t make this one up. Mahmood Shamshun Al Arab holds the Guinness World Record for the heaviest vehicle pulled by hair. He shifted a truck weighing 10,380kg.

The heaviest vehicle pulled by a beard

In 2012, Kapil Gehlot pulled a 2,177kg car nearly 40 metres using only his beard. Which is something we never thought we’d write. Frankly, we’re disappointed that the members of ZZ Top haven’t attempted this record. Other beards are available.

The longest drive powered by hydrogen

In October 2021, a Toyota Mirai completed an 845-mile round-trip around Southern California – the longest distance covered by a hydrogen fuel-cell car without refuelling. Driven by professional hypermiler Wayne Gerdes, the Mirai returned a thrifty 152mpg and emitted only water.

Longest custom banana car

Believe it or not, Steve Braithwaite’s ‘Big Banana Car’ is based on a Ford F-150 pick-up. At 6.9 metres, it’s the world’s longest banana car. With a V8 engine under its, er, skin, you could say the performance is fruity.

Longest continuous car skid

If you thought this record was held by Darren in his Citroen Saxo VTR, think again, because it dates back to 1964. The skid marks left by the out-of-control, jet-powered Spirit of America at Bonneville were nearly six miles long. Beat that, Darren.

Most stickers on a car

In 2014, a team of Lithuanians set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of stickers on a car. The record is 14,637, in case you were thinking of beating it.

Highest altitude achieved in an electric car

In September 2018, a Nio ES8 climbed to a height of 18,750 feet to set a Guinness World Record for the highest altitude achieved in an electric car.

Farthest arrow fired and caught in a moving car

We wouldn’t recommend trying this one at home. In 2018, Skoda Austria set a Guinness World Record for the farthest arrow fired and caught in a moving car. The car used was an Octavia vRS, with the record set at 57.3 metres.

Most surfboards stacked on a car

In 1998, a group of surfers stacked a total of 282 surfboards on the roof of a Hummer and drove 30 metres near Santa Barbara, USA. We’re guessing the conditions were deemed to be unsurfable that day.

Largest car tyre burnout image

Isn’t it great when a Guinness World Record is used to raise awareness of a good cause or charity? The largest tyre burnout image is 269 square metres, with the 2016 record attempt used to raise awareness of breast cancer. The image created was the breast cancer awareness ribbon.

Largest car tyre track image

In January 2015, 11 Hyundai Genesis vehicles were used to create a ‘handwritten’ message from a girl to her astronaut father in space. It’s the largest tyre track image the world has ever seen.

Tightest car parallel parking

Alastair Moffatt holds the Guinness World Record for the tightest parallel park, squeezing into a space just 3 inches longer than the Fiat 500 he was driving. “Being a Guinness World Record holder for the tightest parallel park is a dream come true,” said Moffatt. “I can remember watching ‘Record Breakers’ on TV as a child and hoping I would be able to hold a record someday.”

Longest time to kiss a car

The longest time to kiss a car is 76 hours and was achieved by Ernesta Hernandez Ambrosio and Jesús Juárez Vite in Mexico, from 10–14 October 2013. Searching for an image to accompany this caption was ‘interesting’.

Most consecutive cars jumped over on a pogo stick

In 2017, Dalton Smith jumped over three Nissan Jukes on a pogo stick to set a new Guinness World Record. Nice bit of ‘crossovering’, Dalton.

Largest parade of autonomous cars

We were determined to avoid the countless records for the largest parades of vehicles, but this one is rather topical. In 2018, a total of 55 self-driving cars built by Changan Automobile set a new record for the largest parade of autonomous cars. We suspect this record won’t stand for very long.

Fastest car

The official land-speed record is 763.035mph, set by Andy Green in Thrust SSC in 1997. The second fastest car is the Vauxhall Astramax van.

Highest vehicle mileage

The late Irv Gordon holds the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage. Gordon drove an estimated 85,000 to 100,000 miles a year in his Volvo P1800 S, covering 3.2 million miles.

Longest journey by taxi

The Guinness World Record for the longest journey by a taxi stands at 43,391.5 miles. The record was set when a team in an FX4 black cab returned to Covent Garden in May 2012.

Fastest ever slalom

A Chevrolet Camaro RS helped Chinese racing driver Jia Qiang to a new world record: the fastest-ever vehicle slalom. He weaved between 50 markers, placed 15 metres apart, in just 48.1 seconds. That’s frighteningly fast.

Fastest sofa

Providing inspiration for couch potatoes everywhere, Glenn Suter achieved a top speed of 101.36mph while driving a motorised sofa. We understand he still couldn’t find the remote for the television, but he did discover some leftover Pringles behind a cushion. Probably.

Most car door windows smashed using the hands in two minutes

Here’s an odd one. The record for the most car door windows smashed using fists in two minutes is 21. Kevin Taylor set the record in 2013. Kids, do not try this at home, unless you happen to be playing Street Fighter and are looking at a Lexus.

Fastest motorised log

Yes, you read that right: there’s a Guinness World Record for the fastest motorised log. The vehicle — which was created from a single log of western red cedar from British Columbia — achieved a top speed of 47.64 mph.