To advance its mission of creating cutting-edge cars, Stellantis is investing $34 million to enhance two of its global testing facilities.
First, the Orbassano Safety Center near Turin, Italy, has been fully integrated with digital engineering processes and was upgraded to host four test tracks. These tracks have four impact points and capabilities for testing battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and automated driving technology for passenger vehicles, trucks, and light commercial vehicles.
Over $5.2 million in upgrades to the facility will allow it to test all types of electrified vehicles., and the new tracks will accommodate future test modes related to automated driving functions. Orbassano’s setup allows for testing static and dynamic test fixtures like pedestrian impact, roof crush, and rollover.
Second, the wind tunnel in Auburn Hills, Michigan, is getting scaled up thanks to moving ground plane technology, which is meant to simulate on-road travel and provide more accurate measurements of vehicles’ aerodynamics.
With a $29.5 million investment, Stellantis wants to simulate the real driving world as much as possible, so the wind tunnel complex will include a rolling road while still getting to keep vehicles static in order to run tests. This moving ground plane technology also allows for measurement of ventilation drag, which accounts for up to 10% of total, real-world aerodynamic drag.
These upgrades are part of the Stellantis “Dare Forward 2030” plan, a commitment for the next decade to reaching carbon net zero emissions by 2038. Key goals of this plan include reaching 100% of passenger car BEV sales in Europe and 50% of passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales in the US by 2030.
You can learn more about Stellantis’ wind tunnels in this FCA-produced video from 2019, below, which came along with the last round of testing updates at the company. Enjoy!
FCA What’s Behind: S1E4 — the Wind Tunnel
SOURCE | IMAGES: STELLANTIS.
