An hour outside Phoenix, Arizona, miles away from civilization and down a series of dirt roads in the Sonoran Desert is a heavily-guarded site where Toyota is developing its next-generation vehicles.
The 11,650-acre grounds of the Toyota Arizona Proving Ground (TAPG) are approximately the same size as the town of Newton, Massachusetts and feature 77 miles of specialty testing surfaces, 60 miles of paved roads and more than 50 miles of off-road and dirt tracks.
“We use the proving ground to recreate road conditions which can truly challenge the vehicle, then we use those surfaces as part of our future test programs, Stefan Young, vice president of vehicle and mobility engineering at research and development for Toyota Motor North America, told Newsweek.
“We’re always reflecting the real world into our development processes, as well as the voice and preference of the customers, so we can be making ever better vehicles that make our customers smile.”
TAPG was recently refreshed to allow better testing synergy between other Toyota proving grounds sites globally and making proving vehicles a more efficient process. The high-speed oval has been repurposed as an advanced driver assistance system and coast down area. Coast down refers to testing and metrics required for fuel efficiency testing. A flatter driving track with more chicanes has been added.
While Toyota and its premium arm Lexus do some level of digital modeling before vehicles arrive at the test center, it is on the miles of surfaces where their formula for sales success is brought to life.
Third-party vendors that supply parts like shocks, brakes and tires meet with Toyota at the center to show off their products’ capabilities. And, Toyota works with representatives on site during vehicle development to ensure that the parts and equipment is calibrated perfectly for the goals of Toyota’s product development team. Aftermarket accessories are also tested there.
Today, the site is working to enable more than just tomorrow’s SUV, trucks and cars. A Scion-branded lineup of vehicles is on the way, the company confirmed during a media event in Arizona last week. Though the reborn Scion brand may not dedicated to off-roaders, it debuted the Scion 01 concept side-by-side at SEMA, an automotive industry trade show, this year.
The grounds are also being used by competitor automakers to prove out their vehicles. Toyota rents out its Arizona Mobility Test Center (AMTC) at TAPG, which is managed by Intertek Transportation Technologies, to them. Rivian and Lucid are among the car companies that have taken and continue to take advantage of the site.
