Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the new Ford Focus ST

Today's reminder of how much more awesome the Euro-market Ford Focus is than our own comes from Ford UK, where the latest, greatest Focus ST goes on sale starting Thursday. As you're probably well aware, in ST trim the newly-restyled Euro Focus gets the once-over from Ford Europe's in-house tuning arm, TeamRS. The standard engine offerings are replaced by a turbocharged 2.5L five-banger underhood that's good for 225 PS (around 223 hp), is mated to a six-speed stick, and lets the Focus ST do 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.8 seconds. According to Ford, the new ST also lapped the Nordschleife in 8:35. The exterior is dressed up with 18-inch wheels, the expected body kit and available racing stripes. Inside, the proper cockpit gets a push-button starter and Recaro seating. Depending on the ST trim level selected (there are three) and available options chosen, you can add all manner of comfort and convenience features to the spiffy-looking pocket rocket. Even Bluetooth... but not SYNC. Something tells us the Brits aren't crying in their beers over this.

Yes, we know that the next-gen Focus will be global and that the U.S. will share the same car sold in Europe. No, that doesn't make looking at this any easier in the meantime. Ford's official missive is pasted after the jump.


[Source: Ford]

Ford's fully redesigned Fiesta won't be making its official unveiling until the Geneva Motor Show in March, but it's already working on the hotted-up ST variant and AutoExpress has some exclusive information and a rendering of Ford's performance-bred super-mini.

Aside from the highly-stylized exterior that will carry over from the production model, the ST will come equipped with a new front fascia sporting larger air intakes, a spoiler perched over the rear window and a set of upgraded wheels. Power is expected to come from one of the new range of turbocharged, direct-injected EcoBoost engines set to be revealed in Detroit, although the Fiesta ST will have to make do with a 1.6-liter four producing between 180 and 190 hp. A seven-second 0-60 time should square the ST up with it's competitors, the Corsa VXR and Abarth Grande Punto.

The chassis will be retrofitted to make things stick as well as the outgoing model and Ford plans to offer plenty of upgrades through its partnership with Mountune racing.

The new Fiesta will hit dealers abroad in the Fall, with the ST following sometime in 2009. Whether or not Ford will bring the ST to the States when the Fiesta makes the trek across the Atlantic remains to be seen.

[Source: AutoExpress]

While Ford keeps on cranking out newer, faster versions of the Mustang for American customers, Ford of Europe is preparing new packages for the Fiesta ST and Focus ST hot-hatches to do the same thing.

The £950 package for the diminutive Fiesta ST pushes power up to 185 hp from its 2-liter four, which is expected to come from upgraded engine management, cylinder heads, a new camshaft and exhaust. All that adds an extra 37 hp to the standard Fiesta ST's 148, dropping a sprint to 60 down half a second to eight flat.

Meanwhile, the larger, more powerful Focus ST gets treated to a similar upgrade, worth about £1,500. This package is tipped to include a new air filter, ECU and exhaust, amounting to a similar 38-horsepower increase in power for a total of 260 that drops the 0-60 blitz down to 5.5 seconds. Thank heavens Ford sells a version of the Focus here that's just as fast. Oh, wait...

Get this: current ST owners in Europe can also get this package retrofitted to currently-owned cars, along with a full-factory warranty on the parts. Europeans, then, will just have to make do with these hot hatch packages a while longer before the 300+ horsepower Focus RS arrives in 2009, at which point Blue Oval fanboys from the U.S. will invade your countries with the intent to drive.

[Source: Auto Express]

Click the image above for more high-res shots.

Ford's finally done it. In an effort to quell our burning lust for the Euro-Focus here at home, they seem to have neglected to issue an English press release for its newest special edition hot hatch. While the indecipherable French-translated text our colleagues over at the Jalop procured is bad enough, equally confusing is the marketing scheme behind the Focus ST Black Edition. Supposedly, the Hoff's epic '80s serial Knight Rider was the inspiration for the design of this L.E. model, and although some of us around Autoblog HQ were products of the Reagan decade, we're pretty sure that K.I.T.T. was never based on a Blue Oval offering. But we digress.

The real news is that the Black Edition ST gets an appropriately sinister paint job, matched with orange graphics and trim, along with 19-inch OZ Superturismo WP wheels wrapped in Dunlop SP Sportmaxx rubber, sized 225/35Z R19. On the inside, the standard ST Recaros remain, albeit with matching orange trim, while piano black inserts and a new sport steering wheel make the package a cohesive whole.

Power is still provided by the 2.5-liter turbo'd five-pot found in the standard ST, pushing out 223 HP and 236 lb.-ft. of torque between 1,600 and 4,000 RPM. Only 50 Black Editions will be made available, and if you're brave enough to follow the jump, you can read the entire translated press release. A "Knight to wrinkle" it is.

[Source: Ford, Jalopnik]

click above image for more high-res pics of the Ford Focus ST WRC Edition

Hot hatches and rally cars: two European trends that are only starting to catch on in America, Ford's home market. But that doesn't stop the blue oval from campaigning fiercely in both arenas. The latest point where the two intersect is here, with the Ford Focus ST WRC Edition.

Not to be confused with the 136-hp TDi-powered Focus WRC-S shown last month at the Barcelona show, the ST WRC Edition (as you might well have guessed) starts with the already red-hot European Focus ST and upgrades from there. It's motivated by a 2.5-liter turbocharged Duratec inline-5 mated to a six-speed and coupled with an Eibach suspension kit that drops the ride height by 15mm. The WRC Edition, available only in white and decked out in special stripes and decals, also gets a full body kit with a front splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser, plus chrome-tipped exhaust and monster 20" powder-white OZ racing rims.

The only change to the interior is an aluminum plaque on the center console bearing the signatures of Marcus Gronholm and his co-pilot Mikko Hirvonen, victors of the 2006 World Rally Championship, the two drivers who took the 2006 WRC constructors title for Ford, which this car is made to commemorate. Only 50 will be made, and even with the approximately $11,000 premium over the standard Focus ST, they should sell out pretty fast.

[Source: Ford]

Although Ford has continued to deny the existence of the next Focus RS, Car magazine's spy photographers were able to capture a mule undergoing testing. The current-gen. body panels will be ditched in favor of the new "kinetic" design language that's blessed the new Mondeo, but we're less concerned with styling than we are with the mechanicals.

According to Car, the new RS will get the same turbocharged 2.5-liter in-line five that's in the current Focus ST, except power will be routed through a close-ratio six-speed transmission and sent to all four wheels via a Volvo-derived AWD system.

Through the use of new variable intake and exhaust manifolds, reinforced connecting rods, a revised turbo, a larger intercooler and some significant tweaks to the ECU, the motor should be capable of 300 HP and 280 lb.-ft. of twist. 60 is expected to come up in around five seconds flat and the estimated 165 MPH top speed isn't out of the question.

The new RS will likely bow in Geneva next year, with sales beginning that spring. Although it won't have all the fancy electronics of the Evo and STI, for £28,000, it stands to be the biggest bang for the buck abroad.

[Source: Car]

Russia is back in the race for a grand prix, with the picturesque city of St. Petersburg being touted as the potential venue.

The venture had gotten what looked to be a decent rolling start several years ago with several promising leads. Bernie Ecclestone visited Russia a couple times with an eye towards getting a Russian Grand Prix off the ground in either Moscow or St. Petersburg. Russian businessman Alex Shnaider had brought Formula One to the capital when his Midland F1 team unveiled its car outside the Kremlin in 2005, and fellow businessman Alexander Berezhnoy had put forward a plan in 2001 to build a new circuit to be called the Pulkovo Ring near the St. Petersburg airport. Since then, however, the proposal seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

Continues after the jump

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

Here in the U.S., we haven't benefited from the hot hatch hysteria that has swept through Europe over the past several years. Our choices have been limited and even more so when it comes to domestic manufacturers. With the exception of the SVT Focus, Ford has never graced our shores with one of their hotted-up hatches, but still we yearn for some tire-smoking, turbocharged three-door action.

So without bemoaning the fact that we won't be getting the new RS, we'll just give you the facts, as they've been gathered by Autocar.

Continued after the jump...

[Source: Autocar]

The Mecca for fans of all the world's cars procured some pics of the new Focus RS wearing Focus ST clothing. So how did Mr. Lehmann and his photogs identify it as the delectable RS variant? Noise and power.

The all-wheel-drive, rally-inspired coupe blew past the shooter in a turbo-charged hurry, while one of the occupants gave the one-finger salute to the snapper. The wastegate was audible as the RS accelerated away and although a four-wheel burnout didn't take place, the car's rampant acceleration was all the proof needed that power was finding its way to all four wheels.

It's appropriate that shots of Ford's 300 HP Focus would surface the very week we have our WRX/EVO focused RR of the Day. Both models have proven that small displacement, turbo-charged rally machines are a viable commodity here in the States. But alas, Ford doesn't see fit to grace our shores with one of the most potent vehicles in their worldwide line-up. This fact causes some of us to weep late at night when no one is around.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Specialized, market-specific limited edition color and trim packages are popular in Japan, and Ford has just announced a very exclusive new addition to that segment: the Focus ST White.

Limited to 10 units, the Focus ST White (Japan's traditional racing color) can only be reserved on the web beginning August 1, 2006. If more than ten potential customers register (bet on it), names will be drawn to see who gets to pony up ¥3,200,000 ($27,000 USD) for one of the cars.

Mechanically, nothing differentiates it from any other Focus ST. It's still powered by the 2.5L turbocharged 5 cylinder and makes 225 horsepower.

Until recently, the ST had been available in Japan in just two colors: Electric Orange and Performance Blue. On July 13th, dealers in the country began sale of the Focus and Fiesta ST Black editions. All of these pale compared to the ST White, though. In it, Ford of Japan has achieved something quite remarkable: they have taken a standard issue car in a color that is readily available in other markets and made it into one of the most exotic vehicles to be found in Japan. Amazing.

If the Japanese car culture is as advanced and knowledgable as it seems, the White STs will turn heads wherever they go. You may find this color package underwhelming, but in Japan, these cars will be scarcer than the new Cornes Ferrari.

(More photos after the jump)

[Source: Ford Japan (translated)]