The Lommel Proving Ground also known as the Ford LPG, is an automotive

proving ground A proving ground (US) is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. ...

, constructed by

Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. History Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Bri ...

on ground rented from the municipality of

Lommel Lommel () is a municipality and a city in the Belgian province of Limburg. The Kempen city has about 34,000 inhabitants and is part of the electoral district and the judicial district Lommel Neerpelt. Besides residential town of Lommel also ha ...

, located south of the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

hamlet of Kattenbos. Lommel covers an area of 3.22 km ², and since the development of new models are kept secret, the track closed to the public and heavily guarded. In 1964, Ford came to an agreement with the Borough of Lommel to rent a large area of forest on which to develop a test track. The location was chosen as it was midway between Ford's main development centres and production plants in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, allowing easy integration access. Operational from 1965, from 1970 the track was further extended, so that by 2008 there were of varying surfaces. Besides test track there are also environmental chambers, freshwater and saltwater pools.

External links

Official website
Ford of Europe Buildings and structures in Limburg (Belgium) Road test tracks Proving grounds Lommel 1965 establishments in Belgium {{Belgium-geo-stub