Lang Lang a leg up for Great Wall

Holden’s old Proving ground Lang Lang has been snapped up by the Chinese.

Great Wall Motors (GWM) has secured permanent residency at the iconic proving ground which gave birth to so many Holden’s over the years.

Holden of course produced its last car in 2017 and ceased trading at the end of 2020.

In March, GWM announced it had secured the services of former Rob Trubiani, one of Australia’s most respected automotive engineers, to lead development and localisation of GWM products for the ANZ market.

The former Holden engineer brings more than 25 years of experience, testing and developing vehicles for Australian roads, much of that time spent at Lang Lang.

GWM says the facility will form the cornerstone of a comprehensive localisation strategy that will enable it to engineer dedicated ride and handling packages, undertake full vehicle integration, and execute precision tuning across its growing product portfolio.

These efforts will ensure that GWM vehicles are optimised not just for performance, but for the comfort, confidence, and control that Australian and New Zealand drivers expect.

“With full-time access to Lang Lang now secured, this is far more than symbolic, it’s a statement of intent,” GWM’s John Kett said.

“When Rob presented the idea of establishing Lang Lang as our home base for local development, it was met with overwhelming support, both locally and from our global leadership.

“Rob has been relentless in defining what the true GWM feel should be for our markets, and with the right tools now in place, we’re confident this investment will deliver improved products right here on home soil.”

While GWM’s engineering teams have already been using Lang Lang, the residency unlocks greater opportunities for collaboration, faster iteration and more ambitious goals.

Trubiani said the return to Lang Lang is hugely satisfying from both a personal and professional perspective.

“Lang Lang is an iconic proving ground, one of the best in the world,” he said.

“It’s an absolute dream to be back, developing great cars specifically for Australian and New Zealand drivers.

“I know this track like the back of my hand, having spent a considerable amount of my career here with Holden.

“The intimate knowledge I have of the road network, combined with understanding the high-performance benchmarks required here, is key to ‘Aussifying’ our vehicles and ensuring what we develop here translates directly to real-world driving.

“LLPG provides me the ability to push vehicle dynamics to the edge, identifying precisely where we can optimise and improve.

“We’re not just tweaking cars, we’re transforming them to deliver the confidence, control, and comfort that local drivers deserve.”