The Ford Focus ST is now a forbidden fruit in the United States, but the hot hatch leads a rather exciting life on the Old Continent. In Europe, the super-fast Ford got a facelift last year and now gets a new track-focused package, which brings hardware upgrades for better performance for “genuine driving enthusiasts”.
The kit was fully developed by the Ford Performance team and was tested in Germany around the famous Nurburgring track. The Track Pack is only available for the model with a manual gearbox and includes a KW Automotive adjustable coilover suspension system with stainless steel housings for the dampers with 12-step adjustment for top-down response and a 16-step adjustment for rebound. The goal is for enthusiasts to be able to fine-tune the responsiveness of the suspension depending on the track they are going to attack.
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The new suspension is complemented by a set of 19-inch flow-formed alloy wheels that weigh 10% less than the standard Focus ST wheels. The wheels are fitted with Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires and hide an upgraded Brembo braking system. The front discs are 10% larger in diameter than the stock brakes and use Brembo four-piston fixed calipers. Finally, new powder-coated springs provide up to 50% stiffer response and reduce ride height by 10mm.
A number of visual touches differentiate the Focus ST Track Pack from the usual hot hatch, including a rear spoiler, diffuser and front bumper wings finished in gloss black regardless of body color. The same treatment is also found on the roof, the front upper grille and the side mirror caps.
The Focus ST Track Pack is powered by a 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine developing 280 horsepower (209 kilowatts). As mentioned above, the performance package is only available for cars equipped with a three-pedal six-speed gearbox.
Order books for the hot hatch are now open with the first customer deliveries scheduled for November this year.
