Ford German Lab Brings Global Weather Under One Roof

If you don’t like the weather in Cologne, Germany, you won’t have to wait five minutes for it to change. Just flick a switch.

Ford’s weather factory, now under construction in the German city, will simulate a range of the world’s most demanding weather conditions – from Arctic frost and desert heat to rainforest humidity.

The Environmental Test Center, due to be fully operational later next year, also will be the first automotive facility to simulate altitudes of 17,060 ft. (5,200 m), about 1,280 ft. (390 m) higher than Mont Blanc, the tallest Alpine peak.

The facility will cover 5.5 million sq.-ft. (515,500 sq.-m) and includes two climate wind tunnels, a high-altitude lab and four temperature-controlled test chambers, three of which also will handle humidity testing.

It will simulate snow, glaring sunlight and rain, and extremes of -40° F (-40° C) – the average winter temperature in eastern Siberia – to 131° F (55° C) – just short of the highest air temperature ever recorded – as well as 95% humidity.

It will allow Ford engineers to test upcoming vehicles in the most demanding conditions from around the world with vehicle and wind speeds of up to 155 mph (250 km/h).

The center will enable engineers to simultaneously work on up to nine different vehicles, testing comfort, safety and operational capabilities including electrical performance, braking, air conditioning and pulling heavy loads.

The Cologne center will facilitate testing of Ford’s expanded lineup of performance cars and sports cars, which includes the Focus RS, Focus ST and Ford Mustang, in conditions of higher wind speeds.

It also will be capable of testing all front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive vehicles.

Joe Bakaj, Ford Europe vice president-product development, says the Cologne facility is a significant step forward that will allow the automaker to efficiently simulate the most demanding environments around the globe under repeatable conditions.

“With industry-first features, such as the high-altitude testing and the ability to simulate heavy snow, this new test facility offers a toolkit that will help us to continue to develop future best-in-class vehicles,” Bakaj says in a statement.