Aston Martin has been putting the forthcoming Lagonda super saloon through extreme hot-weather testing in Oman, ahead of it going on sale exclusively in the Middle East - a pretty warm place at all times of year.
Aston always uses Hot Environmental Testing (HET) in the sign-off of a new model, and the HET programme for the Lagonda is said to be among the most extensive and detailed ever carried out by the firm.
So far, the car has covered 8,000 kilometres in temperatures ranging from a toasty 30 degrees C to a positively scorching 50 degrees C, but engineers will cover up to 23,000 kilometres in the Lagonda Verification Prototype (which is a development car that's broadly representative of the production model) over a four-week period.
Using 85 temperature sensors around the vehicle, data-logging then builds up a complex heat map for both the interior and exterior of the car. The Lagonda VP is being parked in the blazing Arabian sun for hours on end, meaning cabin trim surfaces can heat up to around 80 degrees C - measuring heat soak, exacerbated by the fact the VP is black, the worst possible colour for hotter climes.
The engineers will be monitoring air conditioning function and efficiency - crucial for the Middle East market - and also running engine hot start tests, plus functional, durability and structural assessments. So far, running on a mix of coastal, urban and desert roads, the Lagonda is apparently surpassing the development team's expectations.
Anything else?
A daily tele-conference lets the engineers in Oman report back any findings to the launch team in Gaydon, UK, where issues are identified and solutions are thought up or applied as appropriate.