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4x4 News Nissan builds in-house 'extreme' off-road track Published: 15th Mar 2007 Original article: http://www.difflock.com/magazine/4x4_News/Nissan_extreme_track.shtml

 Nissan  www.nissan.co.uk

Nissan has announced it has completed construction of its new extreme off-road track at its Motegi test facility in Tochigi Prefecture.

Covering a 2.3-hectare site, the track is among the largest in Japan. The track was designed to replicate different  real-world driving conditions from across the world. The new facility includes a rocky section to deliver the same extreme conditions encountered on a rough mountain terrain, a desert road and a 30-degree incline slope.

Not exactly your 'typical' off-road situation. More like a massive crazy golf course!

The track will allow Nissan’s vehicle-dynamics engineers to conduct repeated off-road performance and endurance tests of four-wheel drive vehicles – such as the Safari (Patrol) and X-TRAIL – under the hardest conditions in a safe and controlled environment. The new facility will contribute significantly to the development of new off-road technologies and help improve the performance, quality, endurance and reliability of Nissan’s new 4WD models under development.

In addition to Motegi, Nissan conducts research and development at three test facilities in Japan (Tochigi, Oppama and Rikubetsu) and in Arizona, U.S.