When Irv Gordon purchased his new Volvo P1800S in 1966, he never imagined what the future would hold. Now, nearly 50 years later they are still together and in the process have established a new world record for miles driven on a non-commercial original owner vehicle! This record was initially certified in 1998 at 1.69 million miles and then again in 2009 at 2.721 million miles, but his journey didn’t end there. Irv surpassed 3 million miles on September 13, 2013 on Alaska’s Seward Highway, one of only 2 U.S. states he had yet to visit. Even more amazing, Irv and his car are still on the road today with his odometer total quickly approaching 3.2 million miles without experiencing any level of failure. So, how far is 3 million miles? To put it in perspective, if the first vehicle ever produced, the 1886 Benz patent motorwagen had been driven 15,000 miles each year since the day it was manufactured it would still be more than 1 million miles behind Irv!
Irv has driven his Volvo the equivalent distance of every stretch of road in the U.S. at least once as well as in 9 foreign countries. But, throughout the years and over the course of all these miles and countless stops along the way – there has been one common factor: Castrol/GTX protecting his engine. Irv began using Castrol based on the recommendation from his dealer and has used GTX continuously since the brand was launched in 1968. He has never used a different brand of oil in his record setting Volvo and wouldn’t dream of changing that now. So, Castrol GTX has been an integral part of Irv’s record setting journey – delivering on the brands promise of “Helps Extend Engine Life.” In fact, we consider Irv and his car a living demonstration of our brand proposition and are thrilled to celebrate his achievement and continue the journey together.