Go to Maranello—Test-Driving Ferrari with “Our” Shell Fuel Blend

After the first Shell V-Power Network of Champions event in London and Thornton, the next destination was Maranello: Ferrari’s home and the setting for factory visits and Ferrari test drives.

London and the Shell laboratories

Participants from Germany, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom met in London for introductions and discussions about blogging and social media. The program also included a visit to London’s Science Museum.

On the second day, the group traveled to Shell’s laboratories in Thornton. Engineers explained how gasoline and diesel fuels are developed and tested. In the road-test laboratory, vehicles equipped with two fuel tanks and separate fuel systems allowed different fuels to be compared under the same operating conditions.

The group also examined a dismantled engine and learned about dynamometer testing, where maintaining an exact speed is itself a skilled task.

Inside the fuel laboratory

Laboratory coats, safety glasses, and protective footwear were required before entering the fuel-development area. The practical exercise focused on fuel blending: combining light, medium, and heavy components in proportions that satisfied a defined specification.

Each national team first used a computer simulation to develop its blend. The controls affected several characteristics, so improving one measurement could make another worse. The German team refined its simulated formula under time pressure and produced the competition’s best blend for the Silverstone circuit.

What the exercise demonstrated

The principal lesson was that fuel performance depends on composition, not simply on using more of every desirable component. A successful blend must balance combustion behavior, performance, efficiency, and engine protection.

Shell representatives said that V-Power’s additive package was designed to limit deposits and could help remove some existing deposits through controlled chemical processes. They presented comparisons involving fuel injectors and valves. Any real-world effect, however, depends on the vehicle, engine design, operating conditions, and the manufacturer’s fuel requirements.

The author planned to compare several consecutive tanks of premium fuel with previous experience rather than judge the result from a single refill.

Next stop: Ferrari in Maranello

The following event would take the group to Maranello for a Ferrari factory visit and test drives, with the Fiorano test circuit forming part of the anticipation.

For the author, the trip also promised a return to driving Ferrari after an earlier experience in a 348 GTB at an airfield race in Wunstorf.

Disclosure

Travel expenses for the Shell V-Power Network of Champions events were paid by Shell and Ferrari. The author stated that neither company exercised editorial control over the article.