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Porsche Takes Control of Nardo Test Track

Porsche AG is acquiring Italy's famed Nardo proving ground from vehicle testing firm Prototipo SpA.

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Porsche AG is acquiring Italy's famed Nardo proving ground from vehicle testing firm Prototipo SpA.

The 1,730-acre facility in southern Italy includes a 3.9-mile-long handling circuit, 7.8-mile high-speed banked circle and routes for on- and off-road commercial vehicles. The proving ground also has an emission lab, noise track and facilities to simulate varying road surfaces and weather conditions. The site's relatively mild weather permits year-round testing.

Prototipo has used the famed Nardo facility, which was built by Fiat SpA in 1975, to handle most of Fiat's road-testing activities since the late 1990s.

The high-speed track is a favorite for supercar tests, in part because its most sharply banked lane can be driven at 148 mph with no steering input. The Nardo ring's speed record is 220 mph set three years ago by an Aston Martin One-77.

The Nardo facility will be run by the Porsche Engineering Group subsidiary, which also operates the Porsche Development Center near Stuttgart, Germany. The wholly owned unit provides engineering services to Porsche and other customers.

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