Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a pair of climatic wind tunnels at its Sindelfingen-based Technology Centre. The tunnels, which took two years to build, are capable of changing weather conditions at the push of a button, replicating anything from heavy snowstorms to tropical rainfall and operate at temperatures between minus 40 and plus 60 degrees Celsius.
The tunnel’s turbine can be adjusted to produce varying levels of airflow, meaning the test car can be subjected to anything from a light breeze to a full-blown hurricane. For example, a human being could not stand upright in a wind of 100 km/h without holding onto something – the tunnel can unleash a snowstorm at an astonishing 200 km/h.
[Source: Mercedes-Benz]
