It looks like Ford is swinging for the fences with the latest Focus ST, endowing it with an even larger turbocharged engine for next year.
Although Ford is shifting its lineup in the United States away from cars and towards crossovers and SUVs, that doesn’t mean they still aren’t developing their hot hatches for the European market, and subsequently, hopefully, the United States market. As per Car Scoops on their report (Sept. 18,2018) on this official looking sticker under the hood of a Focus ST, it looks like Ford will turn up the displacement on the 2019 Ford Focus ST by .3 L, from the 2.0L Ecoboost to a 2.3L Ecoboost.
Power in the current Focus ST isn’t exactly a slouch, that pokey little 2.0L Ecoboost puts out a generous 252 HP and 270 lb-ft, routing all that power through the front wheels. Perhaps to keep this hot hatch competitive with the rest of Europe’s hottest hatches and taking cues from the likes of Honda, Seat, and Renault, a bump in power was needed. Instead of turning the wick up on the turbo and sacrificing a bit of reliability, they’re putting in an even larger engine.
Keep in mind that race tuners can tune the 2.0L EcoBoost all the way up to 301 HP and 270 lb-ft like they’ve done in the Radical SR3 SL but that’s strictly for race applications.
In the Focus RS, this 2.3L Ecoboost puts out a mind-blowing 350 HP and 350 lb-ft.
If you didn’t already know, there’s a new Focus chassis on the way. As per AutoCar, this new chassis is lighter, stiffer, and has a better suspension setup than its predecessor.
It looks like Ford is confident enough in their new chassis that they’re willing to up the power on its FWD based powertrains. I now wonder if Ford will also bless the Ford Focus ST with their Revoknuckle suspension, a dual-axis front suspension setup that compensates for excessive torque steer.
As mentioned, with Ford shifting towards crossovers and SUVs, will this hotted-up Focus ST make it to US shores as well?
I hope Ford keeps on this lighter and more powerful Focus ST for the US Market.
You can find a reviews of tuners for ford F150 here