Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track is a short drive from Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg factory. Not only are most Volkswagens tested here, but it also has a 9-kilometer straight section that has witnessed the top speeds of the Bugatti Veyron and Chiron. The banked curves at both ends also mean that the Volkswagen Group's fastest car can continue to travel at high speed for 20 kilometers.
Ferrari’s own test track is a figure-eight track built next door to the factory in 1971. Its shape was created from two plots of land purchased by Enzo Ferrari and used to develop road and racing cars. However, restrictions on Formula 1 testing now mean the track is mainly used for evaluating the company's road cars.
Although the straight line is a relatively short 3 kilometers, Fiorano contains a lot of facility space, challenging corners and two areas for testing brakes. The entire runway can be sprayed with water to provide wet weather testing conditions. Most unusually, Enzo Ferrari's old villa is located in the middle of the grounds and still invites special guests to stay there.
The Guangde Proving Ground is owned and operated by SAIC and General Motors and is also known as the Pan-Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC). It is located approximately 96 kilometers west of Shanghai and offers a 64-kilometer test track that can be configured for 70 different driving conditions.
Since its completion and opening in September 2012, more than 18.5 million kilometers of test drives have been achieved here. In addition to GM and SAIC's own vehicles, the Guangde Proving Ground is leased by other automakers and has the ability to provide autonomous vehicle testing.
When the company's base is so close to its own trajectory, it's no wonder Lotus does so well. The Hethel facility was built in 1966 as a former US Air Force base and covers mixed use runways, taxiways and perimeter roads. A 3.5-kilometer straight track can be divided into a north track and a south track.
Lotus still uses the Hethel track for its own car development and to provide customers with driving experiences. The Hethel proving ground has recently been upgraded to full FIA specification, where Lotus legends such as Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt and Ayrton Senna have honed their Formula 1 cars, making the Hethel circuit challenging. sex.
Spain's top test track is not far from the country's major car manufacturer SEAT. However, the Idiada test track is completely independent of Volkswagen Group companies and collaborates with many car manufacturers to develop new products.
Idiada is one of the newer institutions in Europe, founded in 1971 and is now owned by the Catalan government and Applus?+, a company dedicated to certification, inspection and testing Services business group)*** is jointly owned. It covers over 3.6 square kilometres, with 12 tracks used to test everything from external noise to vehicle comfort. The proving ground complex also houses a track dedicated to driver fatigue.
112 kilometers east of Paris is the Juvincourt test track, which is owned and operated by German engineering giant Bosch. The sports car tests cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles for customers, with a focus on tire and brake testing. Bosch also trialled a number of safety systems on the 1.8-kilometer-long main straight runway to achieve realistic highway scenarios.
Juvincourt offers 26 different track configurations, including off-road sections and other surfaces with specific surfaces such as paving and low-grip concrete. Another area in which Juvincourt specializes is in driver training for professional drivers from car manufacturers and company fleets.
Porsche’s Leipzig circuit is a track with nothing but window decorations, with a straight length of 3.7 kilometers. It was designed to incorporate 11 of the most challenging turns from race tracks around the world. These include the Spa Bus Station, the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca and a replica of the Karussell at the Nürburgring.
The Leipzig circuit may be home to some of the most famous corners in the world, but it is not intended to be a racing track. Instead, Porsche deliberately kept the width to a maximum of 6.5 meters, so it feels like an open road to see how the car reacts to the driver's input in real-world conditions.
The Millbrook Proving Ground is located near the M1 motorway in Bedfordshire and has been in business since 1970. It was originally a proving ground for General Motors' British brands Vauxhall and Bedford, but later expanded to provide facilities for other carmakers, and GM sold it in 2013. There are more than 72 kilometers of test sections on site, including the famous Alpine route.
The Alpine route was used in the movie "Casino Royale". This is a famous stunt section. James Bond's Aston Martin DBS rolled over the bridge was amazing. The number of rolls completed at the crash scene set a new world record. The Aston Martin DBS and stunt driver Adam Kirley rolled seven times. Millbrook's more common work also includes battery testing facilities and 5G networks for trials of connected and autonomous vehicles.
Germany's Nürburgring is probably the most famous circuit in the world that anyone can race on. Germany's Nürburgring racetrack is also a popular destination for global automakers to test the endurance of new vehicles. The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ competed for the fastest production lap in 6:44:97, which has become a badge of honor for fast cars.
Much of the appeal of Nurburgring development cars is the challenge of the track. Unlike many new sites, this site has plenty of elevation and arc changes. Currently, about 30 automakers form an industry pool that spends a third of the year at the Nürburgring.
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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.