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Porsche Re-Opens Nardò Technical Center Following Multi-Million Euro Investment

Built in 1975 by Fiat for testing purposes, the Nardò Technical Center was acquired in 2012 by Porsche’s engineering arm from Prototipo S.p.A. Fast-forward to the present day, and 35 million euros have helped the Italian facility prepare for the upcoming challenges of the 2020s.
Nardò Technical Center 58 photos
Photo: Porsche
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Renovation work includes asphalting of the high-speed circular test track, an innovative guard rail system, upgrades to the car dynamic platform, and many more. Over 20 tracks are featured over an area of more than 700 hectares, and 90-plus automotive companies are testing their cars there.

“The strategic development of the Nardò Technical Center advances decisively,” commented Malte Radmann, chairman of the board of directors of the testing facility and head honcho of Porsche Engineering. “This proving ground has always been one-of-a-kind and is now more than ever a cornerstone of the Porsche development strategy and of the vehicle testing activities in the automotive industry as a whole.”

Several extensions and renewals are planned for the future, including the growth of the local ecosystem. Facilities include testing equipment for the fast-charging behavior of electric vehicles such as the Taycan, the first-ever Porsche with all-electric propulsion. Driver assistance systems, connected services, and autonomous driving are other specialties of Nardò.

In 1979, Mercedes-Benz topped 400 km/h in the C111-IV, thus completing a lap of the ring in one minute and 57 seconds. Volkswagen then set the speed record for a diesel-engined car in 1980 at 362 km/h with the ARVW, which stands for Aerodynamic Research Volkswagen. More recently, a prototype of the Bugatti Veyron slammed into the guard rail at 398 km/h. Testing might be incredibly fun, but it also comes with a good amount of risk for the test driver.

On the subject of external customers, managing director Antonio Gratis declared that “the goal is that our customers can test the mobility of the future” with utmost respect to confidentiality. In the day and age when a smartphone can shoot high-quality photos of a pre-production prototype, Porsche’s policy at Nardò is more than welcome by all accounts.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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