Toyota Motor Corporation has opened the central part of a new research and development facility at the Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama. The completed section is a Nurburgring-inspired test track, which is one of the three planned sections. This section, which primarily features a winding country road test course has started its partial operations today.
Toyota’s test track of 5.3kms of winding course is based on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Interestingly, the section also consists of a 75-meter elevation change across its lowest and highest sections. This facility will start with 50 employees, most of whom are test drivers.
The Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama is located in a mountainous area near the cities of Toyota and Okazaki. The 650.8 hectares facility will receive an investment of 300 billion Yen. This will also include an eastern and western section. The eastern section will feature a high-speed test course and specialized courses that reproduce particular road surfaces from around the world, while the western section will include vehicle development facilities.
The facility will be fully ready in 2023 and will employ over 3,300 people.
