Who says you need working legs to go fast?
There are loads of people out there who will always argue that a manual transmission is better than an automatic one. This battle will rage on for ages, and we've clarified our feelings on the topic.
Many people don't have the luxury of choosing. According to a study by the Christopher Reeve Foundation, one in 50 people live with paralysis. The report states that this equates to roughly the same number of people who live in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington DC combined.
Statistically speaking, there must be a few gearheads between them, and one BMW M2 Competition owner wouldn't let his partial paralysis stand in his way of posting a decent time at the Nurburgring.
The driver of the M2, who is only identified as Axel, was discovered by YouTuber and 'Ring Taxi Driver Misha Charoudin. Axel overtook Charoudin in his M2, but to fully understand what that means, we need a little background. Charoudin runs a car rental company at the Green Hell called Apex Nurburg. It's fair to say that he knows how to pedal and has clocked up thousands of miles going around the famous track.
After getting passed by Axel, Charoudin noticed him rolling around in a wheelchair. Fascinated by the situation, Charoudin asked if he could ride shotgun with Axel, and, well, you can see the results in the video above. Not having working legs hasn't stopped Axel from becoming a Nurburgring legend.
Just look at how perfectly he hits the apexes and how closely he passes idiots who don't follow the 'Rings established rules.
Axel explains how his hand control system works early in the video. There is a lever on the left side of the steering wheel for the throttle, but Axel likes to keep his left hand on the steering wheel through the corners. That's why another lever to the right of the steering wheel controls the brake but can also be used to accelerate.
The M2 is equipped with BMW's slick-shifting seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Axel does not leave the gearbox in automatic mode but does all his own shifting via the paddles behind the steering wheel.
His only complaint is the seat, which tends to bounce him around during the gnarlier bits of the track. The bouncing can lead to unintended inputs, but it's something he's looking at fixing.
Still, he doesn't really need it. We haven't seen a Nurburgring lap this impressive since the Porsche 911 GT3 RS recently broke the naturally aspirated record.
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