Skip to main content

Ford’s 2016 Focus and Fiesta are now available with ‘time travel’

Doc Brown may have had to cobble together a time machine from a DeLorean and some misappropriated plutonium, but Ford is now offering one with a factory warranty.

Oct. 21, 2015, is the day Doc Brown and Marty McFly arrived in “the future” in Back to the Future Part II, and it seems everyone is getting in on the celebration, including car companies. That’s why Ford is offering a flux capacitor as a “factory option” on the 2016 Focus and Fiesta

Head over to the “Build & Price” page for either car on Ford’s website between Oct. 21 and 26, and the flux capacitor will actually appear under the “Time Travel Options” tab. It’s powered by 1.21 gigawatts, but also costs $1.21 million. Great Scott!

Naturally, in our age of heavy regulation and litigation, Ford was obliged to include a few warnings for would-be time travelers. For example, the lawyers advise time-traveling Focus and Fiesta owners to avoid their past selves at all costs, as contact could cause a “rift in the space-time continuum.”

It’s also apparently not a good idea to use sports almanacs with the intent to “unfairly profit from gambling activities of any kind,” and Ford warns that “different historical epochs will present unique challenges based on the cultural and technological limitations of the era.”

While it’s always worth building a time machine with some style, the Focus and Fiesta are probably more on the utilitarian side. Still, they’ll probably have an easier time getting up to 88 mph than a DeLorean DMC-12, and probably have roomier interiors too.

And while they may not need roads where they’re going, the Fords are still engineered for the realities of current-day motoring, so you’ll still need to invest in some all-season radials as well.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
These new NASA EVs will drive astronauts part way to the moon (sort of)
NASA's new crew transportation electric vehicles.

Three specially designed, fully electric, environmentally friendly crew transportation vehicles for Artemis missions arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week. The zero-emission vehicles, which will carry astronauts to Launch Complex 39B for Artemis missions, were delivered by Canoo Technologies of Torrance, California. NASA/Isaac Watson

NASA has shown off a trio of new all-electric vehicles that will shuttle the next generation of lunar astronauts to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center.

Read more
5 upcoming EVs I’m excited for, from luxury SUVs to budget champions
Lotus Eletre

Almost every major automaker has released an EV by now -- or plans to soon -- and makers like Ford and Kia already have a variety to choose from. But if you haven't found one that's right for you yet, hang tight. There are dozens of announced electric car models that have yet to come out, and it's clear that the future of EVs is bright.

From longer range to lower prices, the next batch of EVs gives us plenty to get excited about. Here are five upcoming EVs that we can't wait to drive.
Volvo EX30

Read more
Tesla shows off first Cybertruck after two years of delays
The first Cybertruck built at Tesla's Giga Texas facility.

The first Cybertruck built at Tesla's Giga Texas facility. Tesla

Tesla has shown off the first Cybertruck to roll off the production line at its new Gigafactory plant in Austin, Texas.

Read more