Millbrook Proving Ground is an English vehicle testing centre located at Millbrook, Bedfordshire . One of the largest vehicle testing centres in Europe, it is near to the M1 and Bedford .
17-611: Modelled on the Milford Proving Ground operated by General Motors (GM) in Michigan , Millbrook was opened in the 1960s by the GM subsidiary Bedford before passing over to Vauxhall . Due to the geographical needs of a full testing centre, including both hills and flat land, the traditional choice of a former Royal Air Force airfield was ruled out and many sites around the UK were surveyed before
34-434: A 4.7 kilometers (2.9 mi) 4 lane circular track (speed bowl), 5.5 kilometers (3.4 mi) and handling course, a 1.8 kilometers (1.1 mi) noise road and 98 meters (107 yd) diameter skid pan . It is also equipped with an Emissions Laboratory and Safety Test Facility with crash barrier and HYGE sled. In February 2020 GM announced the test track and design centre would close with all jobs being redundant to reflect
51-631: A proving ground near Dudenhofen , Germany [3] , opened in 1964. Facilities include a 4.8 kilometers (3.0 mi) high-speed circuit, a 900 meters (980 yd) section of Belgian pavé and a hill circuit with gradients up to 30%. Opel operates a winter climate proving ground near Arjeplog , Sweden . Most of the tracks are on the lake ice. Arjeplog has an average temperature of −11 °C (12 °F) in January. 38°21′14″S 145°35′27″E / 38.353889°S 145.590833°E / -38.353889; 145.590833 The Lang Lang Proving Ground
68-399: A wide range of types of test tracks. The most prominent are the: The proving ground maintains a high standard of security and secrecy to protect the commercial interests of its customers. Public access is not generally permitted and the facility is hidden from view. Limited supervised access to the facilities is available through some driver training organisations. Millbrook has been used in
85-510: Is a vehicle testing facility located at Lang Lang, Victoria , Australia, approximately 90 kilometers (56 mi) south-east of Melbourne . It was opened in 1957 by Holden on a 2,152 acres (871 ha) site off the Bass Highway . It was used to test every Holden model from the Holden FC onwards. It is a dedicated 877-hectare site with 44 kilometers (27 mi) of road systems, including
102-450: Is a facility co-built and leased by General Motors located within the US Army 's Yuma Proving Ground , near Yuma, Arizona . The facility came fully online as of July 2009. The site contains an inner facility sitting on 2,400 acres (970 ha) with a 24-acre (9.7 ha) campus containing 98,000 square feet (9,100 m ) of building area and also has 40 miles (64 km) of roadway. One of
119-923: The GM decision to quit global right hand drive vehicle production. In September 2020, it was sold to VinFast . It will continue to be used by GM Specialty Vehicles . In October 2021, VinFast disbanded its local engineering operations and put the Lang Lang Proving Ground test track up for sale. As of 2024, VinFast has not found a buyer for the track. 31°02′39″N 119°25′33″E / 31.044266°N 119.425751°E / 31.044266; 119.425751 Shanghai GM (SGM) and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), both joint-ventures of SAIC Motor with GM China , opened in September 2012 China's largest proving ground in Guangde County , Anhui , China . GM's proposed facility at Mezcala, Mexico
136-444: The filming of many television programmes and films including: 52°02′36″N 0°32′20″W / 52.04331°N 0.53886°W / 52.04331; -0.53886 General Motors Proving Grounds#Milford Proving Ground General Motors operates several proving grounds . 32°55′11″N 114°19′24″W / 32.919818°N 114.323366°W / 32.919818; -114.323366 Desert Proving Ground Yuma
153-507: The grounds are mostly abandoned, and only a local security staff remains. This is due to the volatile, potentially unsafe situation in the region and the access routes to/from Cupuán. 23°08′33″S 47°16′10″W / 23.1425°S 47.269444°W / -23.1425; -47.269444 General Motors Cruz Alta Proving Ground at Indaiatuba, Brazil [1] 49°59′34″N 8°55′23″E / 49.992777°N 8.923055°E / 49.992777; 8.923055 Opel operates
170-449: The grounds is the same as 5 miles (8.0 km) in the real world. 18°46′59″N 102°10′07″W / 18.783056°N 102.168611°W / 18.783056; -102.168611 General Motors Proving Ground Cupuan del Rio is situated between Lázaro Cárdenas and Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico. The facility opened in 2006 and features a circle track, several off-road courses, and is primarily used for testing HVAC systems. As of 2011
187-586: The location at Millbrook was decided upon, especially due to having the benefit of being close to Vauxhall's production site at Luton . Construction of the Proving Ground began in 1968, and once the facility opened in 1970 it acted as the testing site for many European GM models from, among others, the Vauxhall and Bedford companies. With Bedford withdrawing from the bus and truck markets in December 1986, Millbrook
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#1732858600883204-491: The main reasons that this site was chosen was the already imposed no fly zone which helps prevent unwanted photography of pre-production prototypes undergoing testing. The facility is also used by the US Army for their own testing requirements. Other such features are: 42°35′01″N 83°41′04″W / 42.583603°N 83.684449°W / 42.583603; -83.684449 The General Motors Milford Proving Ground
221-598: Was a General Motors facility for the testing of HVAC, propulsion, and various automotive systems in a harsh climate. Opened in 1953, the closure of this facility was completed in 2009. It was replaced by a new facility in Yuma, Arizona , known as the Desert Proving Ground Yuma. Indaiatuba, Brazil Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
238-536: Was purchased by Rutland Partners. In September 2016 it was sold to Spectris . In December 2020 it was announced that Millbrook would be divested from the Spectris portfolio of companies and acquired by UTAC CERAM for £133 million. The divestment was completed on the 2 February 2021. The centre provides vehicle test and development facilities including: These are staffed by engineering teams who work with manufacturers on their test and development programmes. Millbrook has
255-417: Was put up for sale by GM. In 1988 the site was transferred to a new company, Millbrook Proving Ground Limited as part of Lotus and offered its facilities to non-GM companies. With the sale of Lotus in 1993 Millbrook was transferred to GM Holdings UK Limited, as an independently managed company which diversified into all aspects of vehicle testing including emission control . In October 2013, the proving ground
272-552: Was terminated in the planning phase due to breakdown in land negotiations. The facility was to take over Desert Proving Ground tasks when GM announced DPG's closing in 2000. DPG is still operating as of late 2008. Soon to be closed and replaced with the new facility in Yuma, Arizona. 33°19′27″N 111°37′13″W / 33.324265°N 111.620192°W / 33.324265; -111.620192 GM Desert Proving Ground in Mesa, Arizona , USA
289-646: Was the industry's first dedicated automobile testing facility when it opened in 1924. It is the longest continuously operating proving grounds in the world. It is located in Milford, Michigan and covers 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). 4,800 staff work in its 142 buildings today. The proving ground includes the equivalent of 132 miles (212 km) of roads representative of conditions found on public roadways and other specialty surfaces for vehicle testing. Some roads are open only to drivers who have passed special performance driving training. The saying goes that each mile driven on
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