Following Test World’s indoor winter-test developments, and the recent news from Arctic Falls that it is to build a 15 x 400m facility in Älvsbyn, Sweden, a state-backed consortium of Swedish proving grounds went public at Automotive Testing Expo Europe with its plans for the ‘Arctic Arc’.
The proposed facility will be jointly owned but located at Colmis Proving Ground (above) and will feature a heated, outdoor asphalt area so that high-µ dry testing and cold-weather testing can be carried out at the same time at the same location. It is hoped that the final go-ahead will be given in July 2015, with a projected opening date of late 2017.
Meanwhile, Colmis itself was at the show to highlight its ColmisPlus engineering services, which are provided by DynaTech.
Left: Stefan Rundquist of ColmisPlus (left) shaking hands with Massimo Folegatti of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
First introduced last winter, the scheme that provides everything from test drivers to tuning and calibration services was such a success that recruitment is underway to expand the operation. Another new addition from last winter that will be expanded for the 2015/2016 season is Colmis’s off-road test center.
June 24, 2015