Millbrook gears up to test future automotive technologies

Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire has for many years been the place where the automotive industry comes to test that its products meet the performance standards for which they are built. A banked circuit allows cars to be driven at speed with no steering input, and routes providing a variety of challenging surfaces, twists and turns snake into the surrounding countryside.

Take a drive around these routes with Millbrook staff and they will show off the area of repaired surface where a car chase was filmed for the James Bond film Casino Royale, and the hero’s iconic Aston Martin tumbled end over end. But those petrol head days are coming to an end, and Millbrook is preparing for the new era of automotive technology, when electrification and autonomy rule the roads.

Recent additions to the facilities at the proving ground include a battery testing centre and an “automotive village”, both designed to facilitate the development of these technologies.