Dearborn, Michigan - Ford has commissioned not one but four high-performance customised Focus hatchbacks for the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association aftermarket show in Las Vegas.
All four are street legal, and each offers considerably more performance than the ST or RS model it’s based on. As a insight into what is possible with off-the shelf components, these four cars are an education, and they’re intended to inspire customisers everywhere.
Royal Purple by Blood Type Racing
Based on a Focus ST with two-litre EcoBoost engine and six-speed manual transmission, it sports custom purple paint over SoCal Garage Works widebody flares and Rally Innovations splitter and roof spoiler - and a drone helipad on the roof!
The engine has been uprated with a Borg Warner EFI 7163 turbo and FullRace turbo kit, Mishimoto radiator and intercooler, and Ford Performance exhaust and short-throw shifter. It rolls on Airlift Performance pneumatic suspension and 19 inch B-Forged wheel shod with 245/35 low-profiles over a Wilwood brake kit.
Inside, there’s a carbon-fibre steering wheel by SoCal Garage Works, Sabelt carbon-fibre racing seats with four-point racing harnesses, an Autopower roll bar, Ford Accessories illuminated sill plates and floormats, and a custom-made storage compartment for the drone and camera.
Triathlete by VMP Performance
This 2.3-litre Ecoboost-engined Focus RS with six-speed manual ‘box has been modified to provide Olympic-standard performance at the drag-strip, on the track and on the open road, starting with a Cobb tuning carbon-fibre cold air intake, Levels Performance high-performance intercooler, Turbosmart internal wastegate actuator, Kompact dual port blow-off valve, and a Ford Performance cat-back exhaust.
It runs Air Lift performance series suspension DBA USA 4000 series T3 slotted discs all round, behind 19 inch Forgestar CF5 Deep Concave wheels and 265/35ZR Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
Ford Accessories provided the carbon-fibre instrument cluster and shift knob, Brey-Krause the custom bolt-in harness bar and Simpson the five-point racing harnesses.
But what really makes this attitudious RS stand out are the carbon-fibre bonnet, splitter, rear diffuser and spoiler, and rocker panels by Anderson Composites, and the Chris Cruz Artistry matte black spray-job with airbrushed graphics.
Packaged for Speed by the Universal Technical Institute
Despite its spicy Pennzoil yellow paint job over Anderson Composite aero kit, the performance mods to this 2.3-litre RS are quite mild, limited to a Full-Race intake, intercooler and plumbing, and a Ford Performance exhaust.
The running gear, however, has been seriously tweaked with BC racing coilovers all round and Baer hi-performance brakes with six-piston callipers behind 19 inch Rotiform wheels earing 245/35 Falken FK150 takkies.
Ford Accessories provided the carbon-fibre trim elements, Kicker the audio components.
Rally Revival by Rally Innovations
This RS with RX styling cues has some real rally cred in the form of a Mountune high-flow Induction kit, full intercooler upgrade with silicon hoses, a Rally Innovations R4S intercooler “X” brace and a CSF triple-pass high performance radiator. It breathes out through 75mm Borla headers, and a 75mm Ford Performance S-Type cat-back exhaust.
There’s more special-stage spice in the chassis, including RS-R Sports-i coilover suspension with Whiteline camber adjustment bushing kits, Eibach front and rear anti-roll bars, and DBA USA 4000 series front and rear slotted brake discs behind 19 inch OZ Racing Superturismo GT wheels and Nitto NT01 235/35 tyres with Shop tyre pressure monitoring sensors.
Rally Innovations provided the light plate, aluminium front, side and rear splitters, rally wing, one-piece aluminium rear diffuser, wheel diverters, mud flaps and bonnet vents, while the Squadron Pro and S2 LED Amber lights came from Baja Designs, and the stainless steel latches from Sparco.
The body was wrapped in vinyl by Rolotech over a Pekok Autobody paint finish.
Rally innovations got inside as well, taking out the rear seat and adding a custom four-point roll cage and R4S interior panels; Autometer provided its Cobalt Series boost, oil, air/fuel and Pro Shift light gauges, in an Omni pod mount.
Sparco was responsible for Evo race seats and an R353 steering wheel and globe shift knob, while the four-point harnesses came from HPI.