When the new season of the The Jay Leno Show starts Sept.14, an electric Ford Focus, the Focus BEV ("Battery Electric Vehicle"), will be the official car. Ford is a sponsor, naturally, but the electric Focus will be used in an interesting way: Celebrities will drive it in Leno's "Green Car Challenge. We hope this will be as fun to watch as Top Gear's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" competition.
For this, um, racing application, Ford Racing Development (FRD) has done some work on the Focus BEV. Instead of one big battery pack in the back, this particular Ford Focus BEV has one under the trunk floor and one in the space normally occupied by a fuel tank -- presumably to achieve a more favorable weight distribution. The show car also has more aggressive (or so we imagine) suspension tuning than the Focus BEVs that Ford would plan to sell. FRD tuned it in on company's Romeo, Michigan, proving grounds. The car is also equipped with a five-point harness and a rollcage.
TG videos of Harry Enfield in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment after the jump.
subytrojan says:
01:29 PM, 09/ 9/09
Jay can call the segment "Star In An Unreasonably Priced Car." :o)
empowah says:
03:11 PM, 09/ 9/09
Hopefully it gets the SES model's front bumper and wheels, which altogether make the Focus a surprisingly handsome looking car despite its age.
estreka says:
05:14 PM, 09/ 9/09
lol @ Suby
This will be the slowest lap attacks in history.