Every car goes through a battery of tests before they are rolled out into the market. Some of these tests include driving in extreme conditions such as in ice and freezing temperatures. Arjeplog, an icy outpost located about 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, is where many European and Asian automobile manufacturers conduct their tests. The region has lots of lakes, whose frozen surface provides an idea test bed for automakers and suppliers to see how their cars react to the brutal wintry conditions.
The town of Arjeplog in Swedish Lapland. Photo: Anders Lennver/Flickr
Arjeplog was first used by the German technology company Bosch in the early 1970s to test their antilock braking system (ABS) that they had been developing since 1969. Traditionally, Bosch tested their automotive technologies in the Alps, in winter, just a few hours by car from Bosch’s corporate headquarters close to Stuttgart. But testing ABS proved difficult in the mountains because brake tests required wide and open spaces. Initially Bosch conducted tests on public roads which had to be cleared up to make the roads less dangerous to drivers. But public roads were not safe enough for testing brakes.
Then Bosch found a frozen lake in Arjeplog, a small community of over 3,000 inhabitants, in northern Sweden. After observing seaplanes land on a runway on the frozen lake, Bosch representatives got in touch with the “ice makers” responsible for preparing the ice for the aircraft. Soon, Bosch had purchased portion of Lake Hornavan and the icemakers helped create the first track for testing cars.
Test tracks on the surface of the lake. Photo: The Engineer
Now there was space for test cars to skid erratically with their ABS shut down but without the danger of any rocks or slopes. This enabled the expert crews to carry out extensive comparative texts with ABS switched on and off, with new car models, even with camouflaged car prototypes. On the frozen lake the drivers could test the system’s various parameter settings without major risks. In the worst-case scenario, colleagues pulled damaged cars out of snowdrifts using other vehicles. The testers simply had to watch out in case two cars got in each other’s way.
www.bosch.com
Today, nearly every major automaker, including Land Rover, BMW, Continental, BorgWarner, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Opel, GKN, and of course, Robert Bosch, has permanent bases in Arjeplog. From January till March, this tiny community swells from 1,800 inhabitants to over 8,000 as automobile employees and engineers descend upon the town to take advantage of the 1,240 miles of test tracks.
Construction of the tracks begins in December when the ice is around 5-10 cm thick. First, GPS-equipped vehicles head out onto the lake and starts clearing out the snow, because snow is an insulator and any snow that sits on top of the ice prevents the ice from growing. As the ice continues to thicken, different fleets of vehicles are sent out to prepare the tracks. When the ice is 30 cm thick, small green tractors with snow blowers go out and take away snow. At 45 cm, the ice is thick enough for driving, but testing usually doesn’t begin until the ice is at least 60 cm thick. At that thickness, the ice can hold up to 25 tons.
Photo: RENAULT SPORT/Flickr
Throughout the testing season, the ice thickness is carefully measured and monitored using vehicle-mounted radar instruments. Sometimes, holes are drilled below the surface and water is encouraged water to flow up onto the surface, where it freezes creating new layers of ice. Such careful cultivation can result in ice thickness in excess of 1 meter.
The tracks require constant maintenance, and are looked after by teams of technicians, who work in shifts around the clock, removing fresh snow and ensuring that sections of polished ice, the most extreme features on the track, are kept as slippery as possible.
Arjeplog has a number of hotels to cater to the winter guests. Many locals also rent their homes to auto industry employees, which has become a major source of income to Arjeplog residents. In addition, the locals offer guided snowmobile tours, dogsled tours, moose safaris, ice-fishing outings and opportunities to see the Northern Lights.
Photo: RENAULT SPORT/Flickr
Many Arjeplog residents are also employed by automobile manufacturers to work as track controllers, plowmen, site coordinators, cleaners, receptionists and more. Each automaker has its own warehouses, driving schools, and tracks that need prepping. The entire Swedish Lapland benefits from the automobile industry with over $180 million spent each year on this tiny community.
“A lot of cars wouldn’t be on the market if not for Arjeplog,” says Philip Talboys, European Engineering Operations Manager at Jaguar-Land Rover. “For such a small, remote place it’s amazingly important to the industry.”
Test tracks on the surface of the lake. Photo: The Engineer
Photo: RENAULT SPORT/Flickr
References:
# Erinne Magee, Why Automakers Flock To This Small Swedish Town Every Winter, Smithsonian Mag
# Nick Gibbs, Sweden's hot spot for winter testing, Automotive News
# On thick ice with Bosch ABS, BOSCH
# Jon Excell, Cool running: how ice-driving is helping shape tomorrow’s vehicles, The Engineer
# Behind The Scenes At Jaguar's Ice Driving Academy, Jaguar Land Rover
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