52 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 7 AUGUST 2019
Δ term Japanese company, they
saw us involved in emerging
technology and thought if they
wrapped themselves around us
we had a future.”
MIR A’s test cells now buzz to the
hum of Horiba equipment, but it’s
the investment elsewhere that’s
more astonishing.
Testing still accounts for around
45% of the business – getting cars
through new WLTP rules has seen
Horiba MIRA’s three emission
t e s t c e l l s r u n n i n g t r iple sh i f t s –
but “if you only do testing, you’re
vulnerable,” says Allen.
Engineering development is 45%
of the work and the remaining 10%
a new technology park, home to
OEMs and supplier outposts, and
e v e n a c ol le ge , a lt hou g h Hor i ba
MIR A’s not just a landlord. “We’re
a l l c ol l a b or at i n g t o m a k e s u r e ne w
f a c i l it ie s a r e ut i l i s e d ,” s ay s A l le n.
MIRA’s engineering nous has long
been under-exposed to the wider
world – the trouble partly being that
a lot of clients don’t like it to talk
about what has been going on.
It has long been easier to say what
MIR A can’t or won’t do. It won’t do
the styling of a car, and it won’t mass-
produce cars. “If it’s 10 vehicles,
s u r e ,” s ay s A l le n , “5 0, m ay b e , but
5000, we licence it.” Beyond those
limitations, though, Horiba MIRAhas the ability to design and
engineer everything, from
start to finish, for a new
v e h ic le. Mo s t OEM s w ou ld n’t
need it to, but just two years
ago MIRA created a fast-
response military vehicle
in under a year.
But these days its
ambitions are a bit stronger
than that. It would like to see
that, via the roll-out of the
technology it helps develop,
Developing future
technology is key towhat MIRA does
`
MIRA created a fast-response
military vehicle in under a year
a
Stewart:^ shaping^ the^ futu
re of mobilityThese
purpose-built
control vehicles can
take command of up to
15 autonomous cars at
once, each with an
accuracy of 2cm.