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Nissan completes 8.1KM high-speed test track in Hokkaido
Nissan Motor Co.. Ltd. has yet again made its mark in Japanese automotive history by announcing the completion of the largest vehicle testing facility in Japan. Located in Hokkaido Proving Ground in Rikubetsu, Ashoro, the new test track covers a land area 7.05 million square meters. This 3.2 billion yen ($27.52 million) investment has allowed speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour (about 187.5 miles per hour) on a 8.1 km high-speed test track, making it the company's longest high-speed circuit in Japan.
"With this new high-speed track, Nissan will be able to conduct comprehensive vehicle testing, from ordinary road driving to ultra high-speed driving. This will allow us to further improve on the quality and performance of our vehicles," said Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
The high-speed track is modeled after the German Autobahn with continuous slopes and curves, as well as various road surfaces. In addition to research into vehicle behavior at high and ultra-high speeds, Nissan will use the track to research driver behavior, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and other driver support systems.
"Nissan has always been on the forefront of developing systems to provide the driver with best support in terms of vehicle handling and safety" says Raymond Tribdino, Senior Manager of Market and Product Planning Department, Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc (NMPI). "These technological advances are backed up by years of testing and research in the most advanced and equipped proving grounds in the industry." This new track updates the one now at Oppama which is also a high speed circuit but not, this length - and of top speed, aside from two other in Japan."
Nissan has three other testing facilities in Japan, two in Tochigi prefecture and one in Kanagawa prefecture. The Tochigi Proving Ground in Tochigi prefecture has a 6.5 km high-speed circuit. The Motegi Proving Ground, also in Tochigi, has a 3.3 km circuit. The Oppama Proving Ground in Kanagawa is 2.4 km long. The company's only major overseas testing facility - the 12.34 million square meter Arizona Test Center in the US - has a 9.1 km high-speed circuit.
After a span of almost twenty years from conceptualization to completion, the Hokkaido Proving Ground serves as yet another milestone on Nissan's research and development. With the sheer satisfaction of customers to fuel their spirit, Nissan continues to demonstrate its lead in the development of automobiles for the fast advancing new millennia. (NMPI News Service)
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