Carwow has gone grimdark with its latest YouTube video, hosting a survival contest between two V8-powered, high-mileage executive saloons over 20 years old. Both cars had their motor oil completely drained and forced to run like that until their internals were destroyed.
The test featured a 2001 BMW 735i and a 2000 Lexus LS 430. The former comes equipped with a 3.6-liter V8 rated at 270 PS (266 hp / 200 kW), while the latter enjoys 4.3 liters of displacement and 280 PS (276 hp / 206 kW) at the crank. The mileage is not explicitly mentioned, but you can see around 164,000 miles (264,000 kilometers) displaying on the odometer of the Japanese saloon.
Both cars were fired up and made to run first at idle RPMs, then high and ultimately peak RPMs. The poor Lexus bid its torturers farewell there and then, having only taken 1 minute and 20 seconds of such abuse. The German engine proved more robust than that, having survived the RPM test and slightly more than 6 minutes of being driven around before giving way.
Let’s be honest. Do you find this kind of video more educational than scary or the other way round?