For practically 4 a long time, BMW has been utilizing the Miramas Take a look at Middle in southern France to develop and refine its upcoming fashions. Initially constructed as a high-speed oval a century in the past, the ability has developed into one in all BMW’s most safe and versatile proving grounds. The Miramas facility, previously owned by Michelin, consists of intensive high-speed banked asphalt sections. When journalists are granted entry, their cellphone cameras are taped over to keep up the location’s strict confidentiality.
Every year, as much as 4,000 prototypes are put by means of rigorous testing throughout its 65 kilometers of various take a look at tracks, which embody high-speed circuits, off-road sections, and dealing with programs that simulate real-world driving circumstances.
Having visited Miramas a number of occasions over time, we’ve seen firsthand how the location operates. In contrast to different BMW take a look at places—such because the well-known winter testing grounds in Arjeplog, Sweden—Miramas is very safe, making it one of many few locations the place pre-production automobiles might be examined with and with out camouflage. Nonetheless, loads of prototypes roam the ability in full disguise, from future M fashions to next-generation electrical automobiles.
A Managed Surroundings for Excessive-Tech Testing
One of many principal benefits of Miramas is its capacity to offer year-round testing, because of the area’s gentle local weather. In contrast to places that face harsh winters or excessive summer season warmth, Miramas permits BMW engineers to conduct endurance and getting old checks with out main seasonal interruptions.
Over the previous decade, BMW Group has invested round €44 million to maintain the location updated with the most recent testing tools. The power has additionally develop into more and more targeted on electrification, with engineers conducting intensive evaluations of battery efficiency, charging expertise, and vitality effectivity. The middle is at present getting used to check BMW’s first hydrogen-powered gas cell electrical automobile (FCEV), which is anticipated to enter manufacturing in 2028.
A Key Website for BMW’s Future Improvement
Whereas Miramas is primarily a analysis and improvement facility, it additionally performs an vital function in BMW’s broader enterprise technique. The positioning helps round 140 direct and oblique jobs and contributes roughly €14 million yearly to the native economic system. BMW sources supplies and companies from over 300 suppliers within the area, and agreements with organizations like Air Liquide have led to the set up of hydrogen refueling infrastructure on-site.
Whereas it might not be as well-known as BMW’s winter proving floor in Sweden or its Nürburgring testing packages, Miramas stays an important a part of the corporate’s automobile improvement course of. Whether or not testing the boundaries of inside combustion engines, refining the most recent battery-electric powertrains, or evaluating rising hydrogen gas cell expertise, the ability performs a behind-the-scenes function in shaping BMW’s subsequent era of automobiles.
We’re seemingly heading again to Miramas within the close to future to check one more thrilling BMW. Keep tuned!
