Wednesday 11th May 2011

New Focus ST In Final Stage Of Development

Ford reveals (sort of) spy shots of its first global performance car ahead of its 2012 launch

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Ford is pushing through the final development stage of its new Focus ST, which is due on sale next year, as these swirly-camouflaged press-shots-pretending-to-be-spy-shots illustrate.

The new 'faster-than-the-old-ST-but-not-quite-as-pokey-as-the-old-RS' ST is replacing the old car's soulful but thirsty five-cylinder motor with a new 247bhp version of Ford's latest 2.0-litre 'Ecoboost' range of engines. The aim is not only to improve performance but also to increase significantly the car's fuel economy (not a particularly difficult feat to achieve if our old PH Fleet Focus is anything to go by).

But the new ST will also be significant as it is the first-ever 'global' performance Ford.

"It must live up to Ford's reputation for producing affordable yet exciting and sporty versions of its smaller cars that reward and delight enthusiast drivers, but can also be used every day," says Jost Capito, Ford's global head of performance vehicles.

"We've done all the engineering groundwork, and now we're using some of the most demanding roads we can find in Europe and North America to validate and fine tune the performance and driving dynamics."

The fact that the new Focus will bring The ST badge to North American and Asian markets for the first time makes it even more vital that the new car lives up to Ford's reputation for building fine-handling performance cars.

"Like the Focus ST and RS models before it, the new Focus ST's final set-up will be achieved after painstaking tuning on some of the most demanding roads we can find," says Capito, "from California to the Nürburgring, and from high-speed German autobahns to classic British B-roads,"

So whether you're cruising the Pacific Coast Highway, hooning around the 'Ring or just attacking your favourite British B-road, have a look out for one of around 60 of these pre-production prototypes undergoing final testing at the hands of Ford's Team Rs or SVT engineers. And if you get a chance, stop them and ask when the RS version is coming out...

[muthaducka]

Not very exciting is it although it's not supposed to be the RS! It's always easy to poke fun at the next generation of cars but I don't think it's a 'looker'. Those rear lights look like roadkill and the design is very european - e.g. bland. Probably their intender market.

A 2 litre turbo then? Decent power output.

[anonymous-user]

Barf-tastic.

[Rawwr]

muthaducka said:

the design is very european

Hmm, I see it as more of a US design. Anonymity is king.

[HurryUpAndWait]

Those rear lights are horrific.

[spurs-442]

I feel that it will be one of those cars that grows on me the more I see of it. Just not in Jewish racing gold

[Twoshoe]

HurryUpAndWait said:

Those rear lights are horrific.

+1. The previous model's were far less messy and more elegant.

[Oddball RS]

fugly init

[james_tigerwoods]

Ugly, big and fat.

It'll fit right in to the States then...

[Stu R]

The last ST I really rather liked, infact I still think they're pretty good. This incoming bloater looks bloody atrocious though. All the performance in the world isn't getting away from the fact they put some tat bumpers on a super-bland looking car. Awful.

[doodles19]

Oddball RS said:

fugly init

What he said.

[anonymous-user]

So that's the mew benchmark is it 247bhp - what happened to the good old days when sub 200bhp made a good hot hatch. I guess modern cars have been at the pork pies since those days? Shame that 247bhp actually doesn't buy that much more speed in the real world. I'd have been more impressed to be honest if Ford had shed a couple of hundred excess kilos and then it could achieve far more with far less.

Not a fan of the styling either. Compound curves going in all directions - like a set of those plastic French Curves we used to use for technical drawing in school. Doesn't seem to gel together very well.

What's with the 'bling bling' exhaust too? Why does every car these days have to have a massive chrome tailpipe. Does more tailpipes make the car any faster perhaps? Look at fast Audi's. Most have 4 chrome tailpipes these days and they look rediculous. It's a bit like razor blades - first two was good enough, then came three, then quattro - what's next a twenty blade razor with a head the size of an A4 piece of paper.

More is not always good. Sometimes less can be more.

[J3PTF]

I've only recently bought one of the current STs, and was a little bit wary about it starting to look dated very quickly when the new model comes out.

Fortunately those pictures have now put my mind at rest.....

[anonymous-user]

Its not a looker is it!

[minimatt1967]

Ohre dear, styling fail. I presume with 247bhp it will have the RS style revoknuckle, to reign in all those extra ponies?

[james_tigerwoods]

Wow, 14 posts in and no "4x4" comments?

[anonymous-user]

14 posts in and no-ones mentioned the 4pot engine?

[Pozzy]

Andy20vt said:

14 posts in and no-ones mentioned the 4pot engine?

Damn right - the lovely sound of the old 5-pot had me sold within 15 seconds of the test drive, and I never looked back! Only downsides were the fuel economy (which was quite poo) and the thin walls between the bores (which eventually made me sell mine as I was worried about it going pop with 310bhp of mods on it).

ETA: the new one looks crap - looks like someone has mated a new Fiesta and a new Astra (the most offensively-bland machine on earth) and then shat all over it.

Edited by Pozzy on Wednesday 11th May 11:31

[356Speedster]

When I got my RS MP350, I gave my wife my 270bhp ST. I love both cars dearly and am very disappointed with the new car....

1. Having poked around a new Focus, it's very flabby
2. It's ugly
3. It's a 4-pot, therefore, can't match the 5-pot character
4. It's 4-door only and looks frumpy
5. The interior is too fiddly & over styled

There's more, but I can't be arsed to type any more. Bascially, I'll be keeping the current 2-door, 5-pot fleet for the forseeable future.

Ford: FAIL

[Chrisw666]

There was a time when I would have really been excited by a new fast ford, but all I can muster for this one is >meh<

[james_tigerwoods]

356Speedster said:

When I got my RS MP350, I gave my wife my 270bhp ST. I love both cars dearly and am very disappointed with the new car....

1. Having poked around a new Focus, it's very flabby
2. It's ugly
3. It's a 4-pot, therefore, can't match the 5-pot character
4. It's 4-door only and looks frumpy
5. The interior is too fiddly & over styled

There's more, but I can't be arsed to type any more. Bascially, I'll be keeping the current 2-door, 5-pot fleet for the forseeable future.

Ford: FAIL

And yet this car will sell by the boatload....