2016 ford focus plus#
2016 ford focus series#

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Mustang a lot, especially in GT or even-more intensely satisfying Shelby GT500 guise, and was duly impressed by a new 2.3-liter Ecoboost-powered Fastback that I drove recently, but I love the two STs with the kind of fervor a San Franciscan footballer has for the 49ers. Personally, it’s a toss up as to which ST I like better, the Fiesta-based model or this Focus ST, but I’m certainly more of an ST fan than a Mustang aficionado. The current WRC entrant is the Fiesta RS, a car that closely resembles the Fiesta ST we can “buy on Monday” here in the U.S., although for many years the Focus was the star car on the rally circuit. The ST lineup finds its ancestry in rally racing, Ford long part of the WRC (World Rally Championship) just mentioned, either as a factory-backed participant bearing the Ford World Rally Team name or supporting an entrant such as Britain’s M-Sport that’s been racing the blue and white livery since 2006 (albeit long before then under different names). No one can question Ford’s performance credibility due to decades of dedicated motorsport participation, and they make some pretty compelling road cars too.

2016 ford focus series#

I’m sure I’ve missed many a series in this intro, but you get my point.

Down under, Ford’s Falcon is second in overall V8 supercar wins, while the blue oval brand is tied in fourth for most wins in WRC.

2016 ford focus plus#

Dodge might currently be missing from the NASCAR ranks, but can anyone imagine February at Daytona without a Ford on the grid? Ford will be back at Le Mans this year too, with the all-new GT specially tuned for 24-hour endurance, the brand’s original GT40, plus Shelby’s Mustang GT350, the Daytona Coupe as well as 289- and 427-powered AC Cobras all legendary in sports car racing circles, while Mustangs classic and current have long been weapons of choice in NHRA Stock and Super Stock drag racing, not to mention more recently a go-to ride for drifting. No other name can lay greater claim to such diversity of racing series than Ford.įrom the lowly Pinto-powered Formula Ford that raised many a would-be challenger up from go-karting into open wheeled single seaters, to blue-oval branded F1 engines, the great Michael Schumacher having piloted a Ford-powered Benetton B194-8 to his first championship in 1994, the Dearborn, MI automaker has long walked the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” talk. Better yet, a brand that’s long been competitive in multiple disciplines, from grassroots to F1, not to mention endurance, rally, touring car, V8 supercar, Trans Am, drifting, drag racing, stock car, and others in between. Fast, fun, refined and totally utilIf I were to ask, “What’s your favorite performance brand?” which carmaker would first come to mind? A prerequisite for me is motorsport pedigree, a qualifier that certainly narrows the field.