For almost 4 many years, BMW has been utilizing the Miramas Check Middle in southern France to develop and refine its upcoming fashions. Initially constructed as a high-speed oval a century in the past, the power has advanced into considered one of BMW’s most safe and versatile proving grounds. The Miramas facility, previously owned by Michelin, contains in depth high-speed banked asphalt sections. When journalists are granted entry, their cellphone cameras are taped over to take care of the positioning’s strict confidentiality.
Every year, as much as 4,000 prototypes are put by way of rigorous testing throughout its 65 kilometers of assorted check tracks, which embrace high-speed circuits, off-road sections, and dealing with programs that simulate real-world driving situations.
Having visited Miramas a number of occasions over time, we’ve seen firsthand how the positioning operates. Not like different BMW check areas—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 autos may be examined with and with out camouflage. Nonetheless, loads of prototypes roam the power in full disguise, from future M fashions to next-generation electrical vehicles.
A Managed Atmosphere for Excessive-Tech Testing
One of many primary benefits of Miramas is its means to supply year-round testing, due to the area’s delicate local weather. Not like areas that face harsh winters or excessive summer season warmth, Miramas permits BMW engineers to conduct endurance and growing older assessments with out main seasonal interruptions.
Over the previous decade, BMW Group has invested round €44 million to maintain the positioning updated with the most recent testing tools. The power has additionally develop into more and more targeted on electrification, with engineers conducting in depth evaluations of battery efficiency, charging know-how, and power effectivity. The middle is at the moment getting used to check BMW’s first hydrogen-powered gas cell electrical automobile (FCEV), which is anticipated to enter manufacturing in 2028.
A Key Web site for BMW’s Future Improvement
Whereas Miramas is primarily a analysis and growth facility, it additionally performs an necessary position in BMW’s broader enterprise technique. The location helps round 140 direct and oblique jobs and contributes roughly €14 million yearly to the native financial 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 is probably not as well-known as BMW’s winter proving floor in Sweden or its Nürburgring testing applications, Miramas stays an important a part of the corporate’s automobile growth course of. Whether or not testing the boundaries of inner combustion engines, refining the most recent battery-electric powertrains, or evaluating rising hydrogen gas cell know-how, the power performs a behind-the-scenes position in shaping BMW’s subsequent technology of autos.
We’re probably heading again to Miramas within the close to future to check one more thrilling BMW. Keep tuned!
