Ricardo has announced upgrades to its extensive transmission test facilities at its Midlands Technical Center in Leamington Spa, UK. The modifications to its test beds – which will be completed early in 2019 – will ensure that the company’s test capabilities are ideally suited to the demands of vehicle electrification, including premium electric motorsport classes. The upgraded transmission test beds will be capable of simulating input speeds in line with the next generation of high-performance E machines.

While suitable for a broad range of transmission development applications, the first clients to benefit from the use of these upgraded test rigs will be a number of top tier Formula E customers who have selected Ricardo transmissions from Season 5 onwards.  Ricardo has been developing such Formula E transmission solutions for the past 4 years.

“Ricardo has already developed an enviable reputation for Formula E transmissions,” commented Ricardo Performance Products MD Mark Barge. “The upgrade of our test facilities helps to provide us with a truly world-class capability, which I believe is best in class for this fast-growing sector. With this and other investments in our skills and advanced test and manufacturing facilities, we look forward to building multiyear development programmes and delivering Formula E season 5 compliant transmissions for the coming year."