ITIC: South Carolina’s World-Class Automotive Test Track

Automotive & aerospace R&D track boosts mobility innovation

Long before a vehicle goes to market, thousands of interconnected technologies must pass a battery of tests to prove their safety and efficacy. In Upstate South Carolina, the International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC) provides a secure and collaborative environment for this testing and validation.

Located in Greenville at the heart of the Upstate South Carolina automotive cluster, ITIC is South Carolina’s world-class automotive test track for automotive OEMs, suppliers, technology providers and research universities to test and validate mobility innovations.

ITIC offers multi-configuration test tracks to satisfy a wide variety of mobility testing needs, including transportation megatrends such as vehicle automation, connectivity and electrification.

The site’s highly adaptive nature has allowed automotive manufacturers and researchers to thrive in South Carolina and continues to create more potential for the state’s booming automotive industry.

ITIC testing features include:

• 1-mile asphalt straightaway test track
• 1700-ft. durability track that can simulate accelerated wear and tear on large commercial vehicles in a controlled environment
• 10% and 20% slope hills with split mu features
• 1000-ft. brake lane
• Commercial-grade EV charging
• Dedicated fire department that provides emergency services 24 hours a day
• Transport vehicle parking
• Half-day or full-day track rental available 24/7
• Surface variations including asphalt, concrete and off-road
• Coming Summer 2024: A 3-mile loop for highway speed testing

Location

ITIC is located just minutes away from beautiful downtown Greenville, giving visitors access to a wide variety of outstanding overnight accommodations, dining, shopping, cultural attractions and entertainment options. In terms of industry, ITIC is 10 minutes from the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CUICAR), 15 minutes from Michelin North America, 20 minutes from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and 25 minutes from BMW Manufacturing.

History

When Jody Bryson became Executive Director of the former Donaldson Center Industrial Airpark in 2007, his top priority was to create an economic development strategy to serve the global needs of businesses across the state and region. This included rebranding the park from Donaldson Center to the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC). The park was unique in the Palmetto State, and there were already numerous advanced manufacturing companies operating on campus, such as Michelin and 3M. The aviation aspect of the new brand came from the park’s most unique asset, Donaldson Field, the state’s largest general aviation airport with a historical focus on aviation industry. SCTAC was the only business park in South Carolina equipped to serve the state’s growing Aviation and Aerospace industry.

Next on the agenda was turning a long dormant runway into a working asset. Just a stone’s throw from Donaldson Field was a mile-long airstrip surrounded by 300 acres of land that hadn’t been used since the property’s former life as a U.S. Army Air Base. In 2007, Greenville was emerging as a new automotive hub with the presence of Michelin North America, BMW Manufacturing and more recently the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CUICAR).

After discussing with officials at CUICAR and other area companies, SCTAC began redeveloping the long-idle runway into the International Transportation Innovation Center, a world-class automotive testing center designed to serve the needs of the state’s burgeoning automotive economy.

What began in 2010 as a mile-long straightaway quickly expanded to include a durability track, slope hill, brake lane and more. The latest development currently underway is a three-mile loop track for highway-speed testing, slated for completion in 2024.

Learn more about the International Transportation Innovation Center