Not content with installing a designated Drift Mode on the current Focus RS, Ford Performance has gone one better and developed an electronic handbrake for the car that mimics the functionality of a hydraulic handbrake i.e. instigating rally-style about-faces at the tug of an aluminium lever. Quite obviously they've called it Drift Stick.
The system, launched at this year's SEMA show, is to be sold as an aftermarket kit to existing owners, and - physically speaking - could hardly be simpler. It basically consists of an aluminum lever which (once you've clamped it over the existing handbrake and bolted a rod to the seat mount) pops up next to the gearstick. Then its just a matter of plugging the attached lead into the RS's diagnostic port.
Naturally this is where the clever bit occurs. To have engineered an actual hydraulic handbrake would have required some significant (and not easily reversible) modifications. With the Drift Stick, Ford has the device speak to the ABS and all-wheel-drive system, opening the rear-drive unit clutches and applying hydraulic pressure to lock the rear wheels.
As with the mechanical solution beloved by rally drivers and Ariel Nomad customers, there's no need to dip the clutch - which opens up a lot of exciting and not entirely mature possibilities (as demonstrated by the inevitable Ken Block video). According to Ford, the engagement - and release - are instantaneous, and only require around five or six pounds of pressure to activate.
Since no drilling or welding is required either, the whole thing can be whipped off again in a jiffy; a particularly handy feature when (of course) Ford is selling it as a 'track-only' accessory and doesn't consider it grounds for voiding the RS's warranty. No word on availability in the UK just yet, but for customers in the United States and Canada it'll go on sale on Dec 1st for $999 (or around £750).