British semi-pro footballer jailed 4 years for filming BMW at 191 mph on public roads

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Connor Charlton filmed his BMW X3 M reaching 191 mph in England.

Police uncovered more driving offenses after investigating a Sept ’23 crash.

Charlton earned himself four years behind bars and a lengthy driving ban.

If you’re going to commit serious driving offenses, creating your own video evidence for the prosecution probably isn’t the smartest move. But British semi-professional soccer player Connor Charlton was jailed for four years after filming himself driving a BMW X3 M at up to 191 mph (307 kmh) on public roads.

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The 32-year-old striker for Nostell Miners Welfare FC recorded far more than one ridiculous high-speed run. Other footage reportedly showed him weaving between traffic deep into triple-digit speeds, launching from a stop light and reaching 157 mph (253 kmh), and drifting the performance SUV around a roundabout while someone else filmed.

Related: The 200 MPH Rider Said He Changed, His YouTube Channel Said Otherwise

One clip captured a particularly uncomfortable near miss as Charlton pulled out ahead of a white van and then drifted right in front of it. But it was a crash in September 2023 that ultimately put investigators onto his driving habits, The Sun reports. Police seized the BMW and examined both the vehicle and Charlton’s electronic devices. That investigation opened quite the can of dangerous driving worms.

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Prosecutors said officers found a note on his phone containing a bogus version of the crash that he’d blamed on another driver who’d supposedly disappeared from the scene. Data retrieved from the BMW also indicated it had exceeded 107 mph (172 kmh) eight times during the preceding year.

Charlton eventually admitted 10 dangerous-driving offenses and four counts of perverting the course of justice, which consisted of getting other people to accept penalty points for him. Leeds Crown Court sentenced him to four years in prison and banned him from driving for four years and seven months. He’ll also face an extended test before getting his license back.

Unlocking 191 MPH

His choice of car helps explain how 191 mph was even possible, though certainly not why anyone would attempt it on public roads with a 70 mph (113 kmh) limit with cameras rolling. Every UK-market 2020-24 X3 M came in Competition specification, meaning its S58 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six produced 503 hp (510 PS).

A standard X3 M Competition is electronically restrained to 155 mph (250 kmh), so Charlton’s BMW clearly wasn’t stock to be able to hit 191 mph. Tuners can readily push these engines beyond 620 hp (629 PS) while also removing the factory speed limiter.

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CPS, BMW