Driver rejects plea in lap of Manhattan

A Canadian driver facing criminal charges over a 24-minute lap around Manhattan told police he wanted to break unofficial records for circling the island.

But the self-professed "car fanatic" said the viral video of the stunt was sped up, making it appear he was driving faster than he was, according to court documents released on Tuesday.

Adam Tang, 32, has pleaded not guilty to reckless endangerment, rejecting a plea offer of two months in jail.

Tang was arrested after a dashboard-camera video showed a BMW Z4 sports car making a 42-kilometre loop around Manhattan in 24 minutes and seven seconds.

The six-minute clip drew hundreds of thousands of online views.

Tang said he sped up the "kind of boring" footage to fit it to music, according to a police account of his statements after his September 5 arrest.

"I believe that I did the run safely," Tang said, according to the documents. "I drove at a high rate of speed, but I was not driving recklessly."

"I am a car fanatic ... I put a lot of esteem into driving."

Tang claimed he never went over 160km/h and ran only one red light.

The video shows the car zooming close to other cars' bumpers and making other risky manoeuvres, a criminal court complaint notes.

Tang acknowledged seeing other drivers hit their brakes when they saw him coming, but he said he stopped for several red lights and never cut off other motorists.

"I drive fast all the time," Tang told authorities, adding that he started driving at age 12 and took a variety of driving courses. He said he'd done the Manhattan loop before at the same speed, just without a camera.

His lawyer, Gregory Gomez, said there was no proof Tang acted recklessly. A Canadian citizen married to an American woman, Tang wanted to avoid acquiring any criminal record because of possible immigration complications, Gomez said.

Tang's licence has been suspended since his arrest. Gomez sought to get it reinstated, but the judge declined.