PURE engine company moves to Toyota's Cologne factory

PURE, which has been operating in its France base so far, is set to make its debut in Formula 1 in 2014, when the sport switches to V6 turbo engines.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT, Pollock confirmed the move to Cologne - where the Toyota F1 team used to operate from.

"The situation is that we have signed an exclusive agreement with TMG," Pollock told AUTOSPORT.

"It's been signed for quite a long time, no question about it, and Toyota are currently preparing the front office complex that's linked to the test benches and to the assembly units.

"So we can basically have all the parts that we are currently manufacturing delivered to our assembly facility so that the prototypes will be built actually at the Toyota facility, which will become the PURE facility."

Pollock said the move made sense as it will save his company valuable time that it can use to be better prepared once the engines take to the track.

"The reasoning behind it is quite simple," he added. "We obviously would've looked at constructing our own facilities and constructing our own test benches. There is a cost factor and there is a time factor.

"But the biggest thing was in reality the time factor, because to build anything on that scale and certainly to build a test bench, it would take a year and a half minimum to have it up and running and to be calibrated.

"Toyota, they've got the absolute best test benches I think in the world for a Formula 1 engine. They have the most up to date, and have so many of them that for me it was logical to go down that road, because we should be ready to be on the bench in the end of July."

He said PURE will continue to operate from France, however.

"The idea is that we will have the main design and assembly team, the people who have to work on the test benches definitely based out of Cologne. There has to be one unit that is working fully there, and we will normally carry on with units in France as well."