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The future's bright
You don't need lairy colours to get us petrolheads excited; just say 'new Focus ST'
Get this: the performance of the Ford Focus RS for the price of the last-generation Focus ST170. The rebirth is on the horizon of the performance Ford that promises not to wilt the wallet of the average bloke on the street. This spiritual successor to the infamous XR3i promises to bring relatively cheap, fast Fords tyre-squealing back.
Ford has released details of its new ST (Sport Technologies) Focus, and the early info promises around 220bhp, 140+mph, and a 0-60 time under seven seconds. All that, and the ST is said to sit below the more extreme RS in the Ford line-up.
This spiritual successor to the infamous XR3i promises to bring relatively cheap, fast Fords tyre-squealing back
Power comes courtesy of a Volvo-sourced 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine with a six-speed manual gearbox, but without the RS's aggressive front differential that attracted criticism when it was launched. Jost Capito, the boss of Ford's 'Team RS', claims, "When performance enthusiasts see this car they are going to have high expectations. The Focus ST is going to live up to them."
On the outside it's a pretty restrained makeover if you ignore the Outspan paint job, comprising the usual deeper-valanced bodykit and black plastic hex-grille, rear spoiler and twin pipes either side out back. The aluminium detailing around the front and rear foglights hasn't been confirmed for production but otherwise the car you see here, complete with (Audi-S4-style) 18-inch rims, will be hitting our streets in January '06 with a price tag of about £18,000.
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