http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dI5ewOmHPQ
This is how a Ford Focus, or any car of a similar standard, looks after hitting an immoveable object at 120 mph (193 kph).
We must advise you that although this is a crash test and although only shop-front mannequins are used, the resulting destruction is pretty grim, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Most crash tests are carried out in controlled environments at controlled speeds and this crash test was no different, apart from the fact the car was traveling at three times the speed it usually does. The EuroNCAP people are the industry experts at crashing cars, usually at 40 mph. However, when the TV show 5th Gear (the slightly younger and poorer cousin of Top Gear) got talking to them, EuroNCAP agreed to test what has never been tested before.
The Focus in question is connected to a wire which barrels the car along a stretch of track at a speed of 120 mph (193 kph), which is easily achievable in most family cars. Upon impact, the Focus decelerates from 120 mph to 0 mph in 68 milliseconds or 0.068 seconds if you’ve been out of school for awhile.
The forces imposed on the car are almost unimaginable. A fighter pilot regularly experiences 9 G’s but is able to withstand them thanks to a special flight suit. The Focus on the other hand was experienced to 400 G’s, so if you were to survive the crash, the force is still going to get you.
“I mean, I know its not all real, but it’s still mighty haunting,” says Johnny Smith as he looks at what’s left of the car. “Maybe it’ll make you think twice the next time you want to put your foot down.”
It most certainly has.
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