What a day!!!

[Apache]

Been over to Millbrook today. Did the business I was there for (familiarising myself with Wolfhound) and then they gave me the full tour!

100mph in a Hummer H2 round the banked track. Couple of goes round the 'Alpine Circuit', couple of goes on the 'handling circuit' and the best part of the day, an hour in the offroad test areas including the 'extreme' area in a trick Defender with ARB air lockers that they use to assess changes to the course. Tell you what though, that Defender would p1ss all over my Surf, and I imagine yours too! Some of the obstacles I looked at and thought 'no waaaay!' - and then we drove through them!

Bit rough and crunchy / scrapey at times, but by christ it got through - it had huuuge articulation! They had some VERY serious axle twisters (think 3ft deep holes alternating wheel to wheel), some impossible looking climbs (maybe 50-60ft at 45 degrees), some massive leans - just fantastic!

[greecysurf]

That sounds like a excellant day mate, wish i could of been there, bet you was grinning from ear to ear,

[evildwarf]

That sounds like a excellant day mate, wish i could of been there, bet you was grinning from ear to ear,

i second that

[Apache]

I'd only just had a biriani in their canteen for lunch when I was being driven through the Alpine circuit at speed. I was a bit worried I'd lose my lunch! He was really hooning around it!

[adpsimpson]

Amazing place, isn't it? I've been there a couple of times, last time I was taken out in a Zafira VXR that they were busy breaking in, 140mph in the speed bowl and silly speeds round the handling and inner city course (sliding sideways at 50mph over the '5mph' line amused me). The Alpine course is amazing too, the driver told us as he hit the more twisty sections, on the wrong side of the road, "I'd better be careful here as this section's two way..."

Didn't get to go on the offroad sections, as they were testing something big that day, but next time I'm there I'll drop hints!

[Paul1566]

Me uncle used to work there, never got an invite tho.
He did all the boring testing like driving over rumble strips for 24 hours or sumink like that.
Damon Hill took that little bald cockney car guy of the tv round the alpine circuit and
he did puke, caught on camera. Check it out at about 1min25 secs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ-MPOUBNMA

[blue surfer]

Now let me get this straight..... you guys get to go there for FREE!!!!!

You lucky B******s!!!

And LOVE that vid of Dom the Vom!!!

[Apache]

haha, sweet!

Where they got air in that AMG Merc, we got air in a feckin Humvee! It was terrifying!

[blackpoolsparks]

Now let me get this straight..... you guys get to go there for FREE!!!!!

You lucky B******s!!!

And LOVE that vid of Dom the Vom!!!

actually no, Andy dosent,

he gets PAID to go

[adpsimpson]

Now let me get this straight..... you guys get to go there for FREE!!!!!

Well I can't speak for Apache, but I get paid to be there... Although normally working 14 hours a day in their rolling road facility (big, sealed, cold room with a tiny, cramped office off one side), so the test track made a nice diversion!

[Apache]

Yeah, I get paid to go there too, but I dont have to do much actual 'work' when I go there.

Saw the climatic chambers today mate. What do you do?

[adpsimpson]

Not too glamorous - working with the design of hybrid buses... So we stick them in the test chambers and run specified drive cycles multiple times while playing with the control strategy, eating crap from the local Waitrose, drinking their horrible "bean to cup" coffee and generally waiting to go home... The outing was a great diversion the last time

[Apache]

working with the design of hybrid buses

Really? We EMC tested a Volvo hybrid bus at Pershore earlier this year. Small world!

[biosurf]

Sounds amazing Andy, you lucky bugger! Glad you had a good day mate

[adpsimpson]

Really? We EMC tested a Volvo hybrid bus at Pershore earlier this year. Small world!

Small world indeed I work with Wrightbus, but I know the Volvo hybrid too - it had its body put on by Wrightbus too, so looks identical to the Wrightbus hybrids (there's about 12 of them out and about in London and Dublin now). Very different underneath though - the Wrightbus ones are series hybrids and, as far as I know, the Volvo is a parallel.