And that’s when it all went horribly wrong

It’s summer in Europe, so winter testing of prototypes is in full swing at the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG). Only they’re not always testing on snow and ice at the SHPG. Occasionally they are also spotted on road and sometimes snapped by the car loving public. And evidently things didn’t go so well during on-road testing for what would seem to be an AMG model. 

A convoy of three vehicles was involved in a road traffic collision over the Crown Range recently, the New Zealand Herald reports. Evidently, according to a witness, one of the testers crossed the centre line. They said it collided with a Subaru heading in the opposite direction. This is an unforgiving piece of road, especially in winter. Whether or not anyone was injured is unclear.

Those associated with the test vehicles were quick to cover the prototypes, one of which appeared to have sustained front end damage. A bent hood is clearly evident in the image. It’s not the best way to test passive safety devices.

This is the busiest time of year for the SHPG, with major car brands testing new vehicles in low-grip snow and ice conditions. The car involved in testing closely resembles a large fully electric four-door coupe (previewed here) that is set to rival Taycan. It is due for release next year. Hopefully the incident didn’t set things back for too long.