The only road in South Africa with a 250km/h speed limit

There is a stretch of road in South Africa that has a maximum legal speed limit of 250km/h, more than double the national limit of 120km/h for freeways.

Located between the towns of Pofadder and Kakamas, there is a 120km-long section of the N14 highway marked by yellow signs that show a “speed limit” of 250km/h.

However, this limit is not applicable to private motorists, who must adhere to the national speed limit.

Instead, this stretch of road represents a portion of a little-known testing zone used by international carmakers to assess the performance of their new models in hot and dry conditions.

This site, known as the Daimler Proving Ground, has witnessed several iconic vehicles over the years.

Most notably, the South African proving ground was one of the many sites where Bugatti tested the Veyron, once considered the fastest car in the world.

Volkswagen, which owned Bugatti until it transferred the supercar brand to a new joint venture with Croatian carmaker Rimac in 2021, used Daimler to assess the Veyron back in 2012.

The German manufacturer wanted to learn how the Veyron’s groundbreaking engine’s cooling systems would handle external temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius at high speeds.

The empty stretch of road in the Northern Cape, South Africa’s hottest province where summer temperatures routinely pass 36°C, offered the ideal conditions for these tests.

Other high-profile models that have been tested at Daimler over the years include the electric VW ID.3, Rolls-Royce Spectre, Porsche Panamera, several BMW models, and the Gazoo Racing version of the Toyota Hilux bakkie.

This unique stretch of the N14 is flat, straight, remote, and in excellent condition relative to most of South Africa’s other roads.

Automakers use the road in their final environmental tests before they are given the green light for full production.

The yellow signs that bookend the 120km stretch of tarmac bear a warning in both English and Afrikaans that states “Caution: Only authorised vehicles for speed testing for next 120km.”

The road can be used by private persons; however, they must obtain permission from the local traffic authorities before attempting to push their cars to the limit.

Anyone who exceeds the 120km/h limit without permission will be charged with speeding.

Bear in mind that exceeding the national speed limit by 40km/h is a court offence, so you’ll receive the maximum penalty long before you reach the 250km/h “limit.”

Once South Africa’s new driving licence demerit point system is introduced, exceeding the speed limit by 40km/h will incur 6 out of the 15 points needed for your driving licence to be suspended.

More than just a road

The Daimler Proving Ground is more than just a deserted stretch of the N14; featuring a high-speed circuit and two handling courses with hairpin bends.

The main attraction is a 17.5km oval with flat, unbanked corners, which is used to evaluate cars at sustained high speeds, checking how components like the tyres, engine, and brakes perform under continuous load.

There’s also a smaller oval circuit with banked corners and corrugated surfaces used to test the steering and suspension.

All of this was kept secret for nearly 20 years, as the site was used to test high-profile vehicles that had yet to be unveiled to the public.

The site reportedly had restricted airspace and was not displayed on satellite images until a few years ago when it was finally added to Google Earth.