To uncover the secret of eternal life, an old BMW 325i was driven over a million miles in a completely unconventional way.
This may sound like something that comes directly from the plot of a Cars And Wonder Movie crossover, but – we promise – this story features neither Lightning McQueen nor Dr. Strange.
Instead, there is a fairly ordinary looking white BMW that apparently had about 41,000 miles on the clock in 2009.
This suggests a careful owner, limited use and a good used car option for a discerning buyer.
In fact, it was an experiment by an oil company that wanted to test the car to the limit.
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This BMW 352i has been admitted into the rare club of million-mile cars
Our story begins in 1990, when Mobil bought a relatively unremarkable BMW 325i.
It would have been a fantastic purchase at the time, as the 2.5-litre engine delivered impressive performance.
The plan was to see what would happen to the vehicle after it had traveled 1,000,000 miles, but they had no intention of driving such a great distance.
The fact that this was not an environmentally conscious experiment is hardly a spoiler.
They put it on a dynamometer at a constant speed of 85 miles per hour and equipped it with a never-ending fuel tank. They ran the whole process day and night for four years to see what would happen.
There are a number of cars that have a million miles on the clock – even more in the case of this Greek – some of them with the same owner, but only one has done it this way.
The seal of approval for the BMW 325i
It’s hard to believe, but after the car had covered this impressive number of miles, it was taken apart for inspection and it turned out that it was still in amazingly good running condition.
In fact, the car’s engine still met factory specifications for a new car and showed no significant wear.
BMW and Mobil were understandably very pleased with this result.
BMW because it proved their cars were great and Mobil because their oils also served their purpose.
What was all this for?
Aside from the obvious marketing potential for these two companies, it teaches ordinary people the importance of changing their oil and how road conditions can affect the condition of their car.
Almost two decades in a perfectly controlled environment have passed since this car has not suffered a scratch, while the dangerous roads have left some scars.
Ultimately, this proves that the car could theoretically have driven forever in this condition and thus could have achieved eternal life.
However, like the entire experiment, it would not have been good for the climate.
Fortunately, BMW – like many other car manufacturers – is focusing primarily on electric vehicles in the future.
