A specially-built battery electric Ford Focus will be driven through Jay Leno's (pictured above with two Jalopnik readers) new show, premiering Sept. 14 on NBC, by celebrity guests who are competing in the "Green Car Challenge" for best track times.
Ford's hybrid and battery electric vehicle program team worked together with Ford Racing to develop the special BEV for the show. It took three weeks to build the car and another couple of weeks to properly tune the suspension so it could be driven fast on a racetrack. The development work was done at Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Mich.
The Focus BEV built for the show has a split battery pack, with one battery in the cargo area and one underneath the car in the space normally occupied by a fuel tank. Because this Focus is built for racetrack competition, it is equipped with a roll bar and five-point harness for the driver — just like the Chevy used on the Top Gear track for the original star in a reasonably-priced car!