• Hyundai prepares for full-time presence at iconic race track 
• €5.5 million facility will increase capacity for vehicle testing 
• Construction of purpose-built test centre to be completed by August 2013 

Hyundai is making final preparations to move into its new vehicle test centre at the iconic Nürburgring track in Germany. The purpose-built facility will be a permanent base for the company, providing a dedicated resource for evaluating its vehicles on what is widely recognised as the most challenging track in the world.

Due for completion by August 2013, the new test centre covers four floors and 3,622m2, and will include new workshops, office space and a VIP hospitality area, wrapped in a striking glass and metallic exterior finish.

The new facility provides a natural extension to Hyundai’s European research and development infrastructure. Its current R&D centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany, was established in 2003 and is home to the company’s European powertrain, tuning and evaluation divisions. Each of these will have easy access to the Nürburgring, enabling them to complete a greater number of vehicle assessments per year, including Hyundai’s arduous ‘accelerated durability tests’ which simulate up to 180,000km of severe driving in a matter of weeks.

Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, commented: “Quality is one of Hyundai’s core values and it’s key to achieving customer satisfaction. The Nürburgring is the ultimate location to test vehicle durability, and we’re able to apply what we learn there to all of our vehicle development projects.

“Our new facility will increase our testing capacity, bringing direct benefits to our customers in terms of vehicle quality and performance.”

The additional capacity for testing provided by the new facility will enable Hyundai during 2013 to complete accelerated durability tests on 11 vehicles, as well as assessing steering, suspension, ride and handling characteristics to produce set-ups suited to the preferences of European drivers.