Yahoo Autos We tour Ford's 200-mph wind tunnel: 26-foot fan has 7,100 horsepower
Besides offering 500 horsepower, the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse has some nifty aerodynamic tricks thanks to some extra time in the wind tunnel that some of its predecessors didn't get (see the story, here). That wind tunnel, is also pretty darn neat, and we got an opportunity to see it in person, and we'll bring you along to see it.
The headline statistic (literally) is the fact it can simulate speeds of up to 200 mph. Ford claims this is the first rolling road wind tunnel for cars that can do it. For that specific speed, there's one large belt the vehicle is placed on, which is spun up to match the wind speeds. This allows aerodynamicists to get more accurate data on how the car reacts at those speeds, since turning wheels and tires play a major role. But when those very high speeds aren't needed, say, for testing more mainstream passenger cars, rather than sports and race cars, there's a five-belt treadmill with four smaller belts for each wheel, and a center one to simulate the effects of the road passing under the car. To switch out these belts, there is an enormous crane that lifts them out and drops them in. Such a crane is needed as the five-belt setup weighs around 70,000 pounds, and the single-belt is around 90,000.
