Fastest Lap Around Manhattan 2013: Is The 24 Minutes Seven Second Lap Authentic?

How fast can a person complete a lap of the treacherous Manhattan island? According to a mystery man that goes by the pseudonym AfroDuck, the new record is 24 minutes, seven seconds.

The Manhattan lap is one of the best kept secrets in American car culture. A combination of a mini-Cannonball mixed with C'était un rendez-vous, the first known Manhattan lap record was allegedly set by Alex Roy more than a decade ago.

A full loop around Manhattan island, sans Inwood and Washington Heights, is approximately 26 miles. In 2001, infamous street racer Alex Roy employed a band of highly skilled friends to help him in his pursuit of the endeavor.

Paul “the Weis” Weisman accompanied Roy in reconnaissance runs conducted over a year to memorize the track and to make a note of every pothole and surface change on the route. The Weis also acted as a spotter to keep tabs on potential radar traps and lurking police patrol. Next, Jon "Nine" Goodrich gathered a band of volunteer traffic blockers that were disguised as construction workers to step out and hold designated high-traffic intersections. In particular, Nine's blockers allowed Roy to fly through every single set of traffic lights from 59^th Street all the way down to World Trade Center.

Finally, Alex Roy recorded his first trial run Monday morning, September 10, 2001. Armed with an Audi S4 with a Valentine 1 radar detector, Roy was determined to set a time under 30 minutes. Alex Roy topped out at speeds beyond 140 mph, committed 109 moving violations, which tallied a staggering 731 points against his license. 27 minutes was his time.

Alex Roy intended to do an official run after his trial. However, tragedy fell Tuesday, September 11, 2002, and Alex Roy cancelled his attempt. Footage of his lap around Manhattan was never released.

AfroDuck and his manual 2006 BMW Z4 began the run on 116^th Street of the FDR Drive, travelling south towards Chinatown before turning around the southern tip of Manhattan. After emerging from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, AfroDuck accelerates north along the west side highway towards Midtown, Upper West Side and then Washington Heights. Finally, AfroDuck heads back east upon approaching the George Washington Bridge and makes his way back to the eastern side of the Island to return to the FDR Drive start/finish.

"I was always in control. In fact, this wasn't the first time I broke the record. I can do it consistently under 24 minutes and most likely beat my own record again."

Despite AfroDuck’s confidence, some viewers do not appreciate the daring heroics and criticized the driver of the record Manhattan lap for not only endangering himself, but the people around him.

“Being a good driver, you're more aware of what is around you,” AfroDuck responded in an interview with Jalopnik. “Being a fast driver doesn't mean that you're inherently a bad or reckless driver.

“Like I said before, I'm in control. That said, understand traffic patterns, understand what's around you and understand how others control or don't control their cars.”

However, did Afroduck truly complete the lap in 24 minutes, seven seconds? The video is invalidated the very moment it was compressed to 4.3X film speed with music dubbed over it. It would be curious to know if raw footage of the run will ever surface on the internet.

Curious to at least learn AfroDuck’s route around Manhattan? Watch his video of the alleged record lap of Manhattan below: