The Koenigsegg One:1 and the Aston Martin Vulcan are two of the world’s most desirable hypercars, or megacar as Koenigsegg wants the One:1 to be called. So Castrol must have a ton of clout if it was able to get the One:1 and the Vulcan to participate in its self-created Clone Rival challenge developed to basically serve as a very expensive advertorial for its new Titanium supercar motor oil.

The premise of the challenge is to have two professional drivers – Koenigsegg test driver Christoffer Nygaard and his Aston Martin counterpart Darren Turner – perform 10 laps around the Ascari circuit with virtual versions of their cars using a simulator. Castrol then took their fastest times in each of their laps to help create the perfect laps for both the One:1 and the Vulcan.

Once the laps were completed, Nygaard and Turner took to the actual Ascari circuit onboard their actual cars to take on their virtual counterparts. But before taking off on the hot laps, both the One:1 and the Vulcan received the highly touted titanium motor oil with the premise that Castrol would help the real-life cars beat the virtual versions around the track.

The results were spliced together in a pair of carefully crafted, albeit entertaining videos. Castrol even injected the videos with some nifty graphics at the end to showcase the capabilities of the motor oil. In the end, both Nygaard and Turner managed to drive their cars around the famous Italian circuit ahead of their virtual alter egos, proving that in this rather extravagant exercise of product promotion, Castrol’s new Titanium Supercar motor oil is everything the company says it is.

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Why it matters

I honestly don’t know what I’m more impressed by; the fact that Castrol got Koenigsegg and Aston Martin to participate in this or that the product actually works. I’m not surprised that Castrol’s supercar motor oil is as good as it says it is. After all, the company has been in business for more than 100 years and it doesn’t last as long as it does without being good at what it does. The fact that the company was also able to get the Koenigsegg One:1 and the Aston Martin Vulcan to participate in the Clone Rival challenge also speaks to the kind of influence Castrol has over the two automakers.

As for the videos themselves, you get the picture that Castrol wanted to make it as professionally done as possible. In addition to “borrowing” both the One:1 and the Vulcan, the company also presumably spent a great deal of time and money in piecing together that virtual lap using a rather expensive-looking virtual simulator.

Granted, Castrol knows that the target audience for this challenge/advertorial is the super exclusive supercar market. It’s a club made up of wealthy and deep-pocketed enthusiasts and the only way to translate the message of the product’s effectiveness is to use it on the two of the most exclusive and sought-after hypercars in the market today.

I’d say that the message was heard loud and clear, although I do think that the delivery to get that message across bordered on the excessive. But hey, it’s the market that counts for Castrol and if people with supercars end up buying its new Titanium Supercar motor oil, I don’t think the company cares what Honda Civic-driving folks like me think about its Clone Rival challenge.

Koenigsegg One:1

Read our full review on the Koenigsegg One:1 here.

Aston Martin Vulcan

Read our full review on the Aston Martin Vulcan here.