It’s Ford’s new hot hatch – and it’s set to be a STormer!
These world-exclusive pictures are the first to reveal the new Ford Focus ST, which our spies spotted testing near Germany’s famous Nürburgring circuit.
While we’ve already seen the car on the motor show stand, this is the first time the fast hatchback has ventured onto the roads.
Though our prototype cars look at first glance like standard Focus models, there are a number of details that give the game away.
First up, are the wheelarch-filling alloy wheels. Then, at the rear, there's the wide central-exit exhaust protruding from the rear bumper.
The biggest change to the ST takes place under the bonnet: where the outgoing car featureda turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine, the new one will use a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost unit.
This will achieve a power output of 247bhp, up 25bhp over the current ST – but the real difference comes at the pumps. By employing a turbocharger, the new model’s Ecoboost powerplant manages a 25% gain in efficiency: combined fuel economy should be around 5mpg better off at 35mpg, while expected CO2 emissions of 180g/km represent a significant improvement of roughly 40g/km.
Ford showed off the new ST at the 2010 Paris motor show, so we can expect the production model to look even more aggressive than the car in our spy shots.
The grille is a vast mesh affair, and is placed higher up than on stock Focuses, which makes room for a deep front splitter.
Deep side skirts add to the road presence, and a sizeable rear bumper and spoiler complete the bold look. One major difference with the new car lies in the lack of a three-door variant, with slow sales of the old model persuading Ford to produce the new one as a five-door only.
But while the three-door is no more, we’ve also got photographic proof of the new ST estate. Snapped sitting on the back of a flatbed truck, it too features a central-exit exhaust that hints at its potential.
And use of RS badged seats suggests that engineers' plans for fast Fords may not end there... According to the latest reports the firm remains committed to building a new RS - a car tipped to use a new hybrid four wheel drive system.
The Focus ST will go on sale late this year, with a price tag of around £24,000.
These world-exclusive pictures are the first to reveal the new Ford Focus ST, which our spies spotted testing near Germany’s famous Nürburgring circuit.
While we’ve already seen the car on the motor show stand, this is the first time the fast hatchback has ventured onto the roads.
Though our prototype cars look at first glance like standard Focus models, there are a number of details that give the game away.
First up, are the wheelarch-filling alloy wheels. Then, at the rear, there's the wide central-exit exhaust protruding from the rear bumper.
The biggest change to the ST takes place under the bonnet: where the outgoing car featureda turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine, the new one will use a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost unit.
This will achieve a power output of 247bhp, up 25bhp over the current ST – but the real difference comes at the pumps. By employing a turbocharger, the new model’s Ecoboost powerplant manages a 25% gain in efficiency: combined fuel economy should be around 5mpg better off at 35mpg, while expected CO2 emissions of 180g/km represent a significant improvement of roughly 40g/km.
Ford showed off the new ST at the 2010 Paris motor show, so we can expect the production model to look even more aggressive than the car in our spy shots.
The grille is a vast mesh affair, and is placed higher up than on stock Focuses, which makes room for a deep front splitter.
Deep side skirts add to the road presence, and a sizeable rear bumper and spoiler complete the bold look. One major difference with the new car lies in the lack of a three-door variant, with slow sales of the old model persuading Ford to produce the new one as a five-door only.
But while the three-door is no more, we’ve also got photographic proof of the new ST estate. Snapped sitting on the back of a flatbed truck, it too features a central-exit exhaust that hints at its potential.
And use of RS badged seats suggests that engineers' plans for fast Fords may not end there... According to the latest reports the firm remains committed to building a new RS - a car tipped to use a new hybrid four wheel drive system.
The Focus ST will go on sale late this year, with a price tag of around £24,000.
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