This paper is a Progress Report describing the design and construction of a “Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle”, VDTV, suitable for use as a test tool by researchers in the field of automotive safety. The VDTV project was sponsored and funded by the United States Department of Transportation, Intelligent Transportation System/Joint Program Office. The VDTV performance will be programable by way of an Onboard laptop computer readily accessible to the test driver or a test conductor. The vehicle systems available for programming are the vehicle “by wire” systems which are the front and rear steer;​ steering feel;​ brakes with ABS, traction control, and yaw control;​ throttle;​ front and rear anti-roll bars;​ and the variable rate suspension. The base vehicle is a Roush Technologies modified 1995 Ford Taurus SHO used in the Bob Bondurant high performance driving school in Phoenix, Arizona. This base vehicle has an experience history of proven performance, low maintenance and high reliability. This base vehicle already contained a roll cage, high performance springs, heavy duty subframe mounts, and a fire control system. Tier one automotive component suppliers provided their latest “ready for production, by wire” components, at essentially their incremental cost for modifying these systems to VDTV requirements for the vehicle systems outlined above. These components were installed on the base vehicle by Roush Technologies. ERIM Automotive was the primary contractor and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory acted as the contract technical manager for the Department of Transportation. The VDTV is designed to be capable of simulating the braking and dynamic performance of a large variety of generic vehicle types ranging from small to large vehicle sizes. A comprehensive onboard data acquisition system is available to record all data from all vehicle sensors. An offboard data processing system will process data into user format. User-supplied equipment can be added to the VDTV by using VDTV supplied power and electronic interface to the control and measurement subsystem. Vehicle and test condition safety has been provided through the VDTV design and construction process. The VDTV will provide researchers a safe, versatile research tool that can quickly and economically simulate a variety of vehicle test conditions for studying vehicle dynamic performance, human factors, driver physiological performance, and intelligent vehicle crash avoidance systems both singularly or in combination.