Detour Pit Stop #23: Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire, UK
Road testing new cars is a serious business, but anyone who has ever been to Millbrook Proving Ground can’t help but think of it as a massive playground.
This 2,200 acre site is home to a two-mile high speed bowl, a mile-long straight, a collection of handling circuits, off-road tracks, a huge steering pad and, every motoring journalists’ favourite, the ‘Hill Route’.
Each section has its own little treat. On the high-speed circuit it’s that the angle of the banking is set for a ‘hands-off speed’ of 100mph. That means you can let go of the steering wheel and the car should stay in lane as long as you’re doing exactly a ton. Excellent for scaring unwitting passengers. Beyond 100mph you need to start steering, and beyond 150mph you’re steering a considerable amount, creeping closer to the barriers, hoping that nothing goes wrong. For example an Alpina BMW’s engine grenading itself.
The mile straight is for measuring standing start and in-gear acceleration. And when you’re in something quick that mile disappears in no time, leaving you to hope you’ve scrubbed off enough speed to make the banked turn at the end to have another go. The roundabout at the top is a notorious drifting spot.
The handling circuits are a hoot, but you need to watch out for the deliberately inserted potholes which could tear a wheel off at speed. Imprinted on my memory is Tiff Needell, sliding a police Vauxhall Senator round - often with at least two wheels on the grass.
The off-road routes are rutted, axle torturing experiences with steep climbs and descents, logs and water features designed to test any 4x4 to the limit.
The steering pad – a huge apron of tarmac that can be instantly soaked in water – is where Chris Harris, us Detourists and many more learned to drift for the first time.
But it’s the Hill Route that is everyone’s favourite. This undulating circuit is complete with banked and off-camber corners, both fast and slow, steep climbs and drops and, most importantly, a yump at the end where it’s almost impossible not to get all four wheels off the ground. The Hill Route is routinely used for filming, most famously for the scene where Bond barrel-rolls his Aston Martin in Casino Royale.
And although Millbrook was designed first and foremost for the motor industry and has been owned by Lotus and GM, it is also occasionally open for public events, from rallies to cycle races and fun runs, while car makers frequently offer experience days for customers. If you ever get the offer you should jump – or should that be ‘yump’ at it.