Its guardrails, Lexus says, are three times as strong as those on a normal test course.
“It is an especially difficult course, both on cars and people,” says Shuichi Ozaki, one of two “Takumi” expert drivers who push Lexus cars to their limits here to hone their driving feel.
Toyota has invested $2.22 billion in the entire Shimoyama complex.
Aside from the Lexus campus and Mini-Nürburgring, there will be 11 other test courses for Toyota engineers to work with. On tap are a giant high-speed oval, low-friction road, dynamic pad, multi-surface drive, handling track, hill climb and load-force strip, just to name a few.
When the whole facility goes fully operational in the fiscal year ending March 2024, some 3,300 people will be working there, including those at the Lexus campus.
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