Shell lubricates TV viewers

It’s well known that oil is a vital component of your vehicle, keeping moving mechanical bits working their best under varying and trying conditions.

But spreading the 'good oil' message to car owners, who'd prefer an annual rectal exam to having to regularly check the dipstick under the bonnet, is an ongoing issue for lubricant manufacturers.

There’s been some memorable promotions over the years – remember ‘Oils ain’t oils’ – but now Shell has lifted the bar by commissioning the three-part ‘reality TV’ show Driven to Extremes, which according to the Anglo-Dutch oil giant aims “to put its premium motor oil, Shell Helix, to the ultimate test (and) features some of the world’s most extreme driving challenges in the coldest, hottest and roughest locations on earth”.

The multi-million dollar extravaganza features a bunch of celebrities, including Hollywood actor Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill, British Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson, and former racing driver Mika Salo, who take a modified ‘old school’ Nissan Patrol through a bunch of hostile regions unlikely to ever feature in any Lonely Planet guidebook.

The first episode takes place in Siberia, Russia, along the Kolyma Highway, also known as the ‘Road of Bones’, to one of the coldest inhabited places on earth, Oymyakon, where temperatures during filming approached -60°C.

The second episode takes place in the super-hot Taklimakan Desert in Western China, which with a nickname ‘Desert of Death’ probably doesn’t have a tourist information centre. Facing 40 degree plus temperatures, our intrepid travellers finish up at Urumqi, the farthest city from any ocean in the world and an unlikely place for a trailerboat dealer.

While the final episode tackles Malaysia’s sticky, slippery jungle tracks in monsoon season. Incidentally, the producers initially wanted one of the episodes to be in the ‘highest’ location on earth, somewhere in India, but when the crew suffered altitude sickness the location was quickly switched to a more oxygen-friendly region.

Interestingly, instead of the latest, high-revving V8 Patrol just launched in Australia the producers chose a specially modified 2012 Y61 Patrol with under-stressed 85kW/264Nm turbo-diesel engine “because of the simplicity of the 4.0-litre diesel engine. With no electronics in the vehicle the car is easy to repair and modify in sub-zero temperatures”.

However, to cope with the temperature extremes, the gutsy Patrol was beefed up with double glazed glass, mud or spiked snow tyres, roll cage and insulation, while the engine bay was also 'waterproofed'. Shell’s top-shelf Helix Ultra synthetic oil, which retails in Australia for around $13 a litre, helped keep the unmodified engine running smoothly.

Along the way, the hardy celebs battle leeches, vicious sand storms, and from what we can gather from the promo video, a severe case of ham acting. But they’re hardly left to their own devices, backed up by a team of ‘experts’ including ex-Marine Commandos, specialist medics and experienced adventure mechanics.

Of course, Shell rarely misses an opportunity to plug the product, with one particularly frosty Siberian snow scene including a demonstration of how conventional mineral oil solidifies in sub-zero temperatures whereas Shell’s hi-tech synthetic version retains a nice, runny gooey texture.

Part celebrity-fest, part travel documentary, part madcap, Top Gear-style shenanigans, Shell Helix Driven to Extremes promises, according to the publicity blurb “to be the ultimate driving test, pushing man and machine to the limit”.

To find out, the three-part series is being shown on the free-to-air ONE network in Australia at 7.30pm from Friday, August 23.
Or to whet your appetite visit the Shell Youtube site to access exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, photos and interviews.