When developing an all-new car, engineers handling the R&D duties need to address a lot of stuff in order to make sure the production-ready vehicle will be sturdy enough for every imaginable scenario. A testing criteria is the classic hot weather testing, but winter testing is also a big deal for every automaker.
Driving on the Nurburgring like you stole it may be jolly good fun for a test driver, but the science behind it is as serious as it gets - if you want to fine tune the suspension, steering and chassis dynamics of a development mule, you have to be extremely sensible to what the vehicle's feedback and what the sensors are telling you what issues need addressing.
Looking at the photograph above, you’d be tempted into telling yourself “Who in the world would get so much snow and ice in the engine bay only by driving during winter time? That's a foolish thing to do!”
It’s definitely on the edge of overkill, but once again, there’s a little bit of science to this madness
John Toth, project and engineer at Ford’s winter and drivability test facility, discloses in the video below that even the track-oriented 2016 Shelby GT350 Mustang has to endure a little bit of freezing to prove its cold weather sturdiness. The state-of-the-art facility is able to simulate temperatures from -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 Celsius) to 131 degrees (55C).
Furthermore, the testing facility is fitted with equipment which can control humidity, simulate the sunshine, wind speed, altitude changes, the lot. John explains that all this sub-zero abuse is mandatory when developing a car because snow is a big concern, especially if the air filters or something in the engine’s air filtration system clogs up with snow or ice.
Another really frustrating issue regarding winter driving is that manual gearboxes may be a little stiff due to the low temperature of the transmission oil. If you’re living in a very cold place like Greenland, chances are you’ve experienced shifter linkage freeze up, which is a bit of a headache.
Play the clip below if you are curious on how the 2016 Shelby GT350 handled its chilly experience.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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