JaguarLandRover
(JLR) has enhanced its Middle East test programme by opening a new engineering
test centre in Dubai, UAE, to conduct extreme hot weather vehicle research,
development and testing.
With temperatures in the
desert typically reaching 48 to 50°C in the summer months, the
new 11,120 square feet facility in the Al Barsha area of Dubai, UAE will offer
a comprehensive range of tests including durability, calibration and hot weather testing for heat and humidity.
The engineering team at the
new centre, which replaces a smaller facility in Dubai, will also test
powertrains, chassis and heat and ventilation systems, as well as the off-road
and sand driving capability of Land Rover’s unique Terrain Response system.
JLR has a network of five
global test facilities: Nurburgring, Germany; Arjeplog, Sweden; Phoenix and
International Falls, USA, and Dubai, UAE.
JLR director of engineering
technical services Martyn Hollingsworth said: “Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious
plans for growth, and since 2008 we have been investing to enhance our
engineering capability to help us deliver an unprecedented number of new and
refreshed Jaguar and Land Rover models.”
This growth has provided significant opportunities for a wide range of companies including Horiba Automotive.
Hollingsworth continued:
“Our new facility in Dubai is four times the size of the previous test centre
and will enable us to enhance our testing of future products and
technologies. The engineering team is focused on the quality and
durability of our products and an important part of this is rigorous
environmental testing of our vehicles to ensure they can withstand even the
harshest conditions.”
Robin Colgan, managing director
JLR MENA (Middle East and North Africa) added: “We are delighted at the
expansion of Jaguar Land Rover’s test facilities in the Middle East. Dubai
offers some unique and very challenging environmental conditions, so if a
vehicle passes our tests here we know it will perform in any hot weather
environment. The new facility will be crucial to the company’s continued
success as every model for the European and MENA markets will be certified here
in Dubai following thorough testing before going into global production.”
No doubt it will not be
long before JLR's new Hotfire range of gasoline and diesel engines will be
subjected to these conditions too as part of the enhanced programme of durability testing
the engines are now undergoing.
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