Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has opened a new automotive test facility at its base in Goodwood, UK. Named in honour of Eric Platford, Sir Henry Royce’s first chief vehicle tester, the Eric Platford Testway enables engineers to introduce controlled inputs to the chassis, suspension, body structure and interior components in a repeatable environment.
The Testway comprises four parallel lanes, each 90 metres in length, which together offer eight distinct surface profiles designed to stimulate specific vehicle responses. The testing process involves two passes of a vehicle over each surface, one at fixed speed and another at varying speeds.
The Testway has various surface profiles designed to simulate driving surfaces that customers might encounter around the world. These test surfaces include:
- Small and large cobblestone sections to identify potential rattles and assess ride composure
- ‘Random Concrete Waves’ with expansion joints at 2.4-metre intervals to introduce vertical variation
- Angled ‘Twist Humps’ designed to apply torsional load through opposing axle movement
- Paired ‘Railway Tracks’ generating sequential front and rear axle inputs
- Alternating circular iron covers to assess asymmetric response
- ‘Sine Waves’ corrugations measuring 12 mm in height and spaced 300 mm apart, producing high-frequency resonance
- Smooth tarmac
Turning areas at either end of the Testway enable development drivers to test a ‘roundabout’ style change of direction, which Rolls-Royce says is especially useful for testing how any loose personal items in the cabin move during such common manoeuvres.
Prior to entering the Eric Platford Testway, the car under test passes through an aero-acoustic chamber where static wind-noise intrusion testing is conducted using high-pressure, variable-speed air jets mounted on a movable gantry. This allows testing at simulated speeds in excess of 70 mph (112 km/h).
Engineers will continue to validate a sample of vehicles on an eight-mile (13 km) route on local roads surrounding the Goodwood facility.
