The 2013 Ford Focus ST represents the Blue Oval’s first serious attempt at building a hot hatchback for U.S. customers, and they aren’t pinching pennies when it comes to marketing it. From a customer-filmed commercial to an Internet marketing blitz, the Focus ST seems to be everywhere.
But Ford isn’t stopping there; as we already told you, Ford is gathering up its cadre of motorsports drivers and pitting them against one another in a new web series called the “Focus ST” sessions. The first video has hit the web, and we have to say, Ford is off to a strong start.
Rather than jabbering on about the Focus ST’s 2.0 liter, 247 horsepower EcoBoost engine or its world-class differential and suspension, Ford let’s the driving do the talking. The Blue Oval rounded up some of the Focus ST’s most fearsome competitors, including the Volkswagen GTI, Subaru WRX, and the Mazdaspeed 3.
And as you might expect, the Focus ST handily takes down each in turn, crushing its class competitors thanks to a 20psi Overboost feature, 270 ft-lbs of torque, and dynamic handling technologies that let it swing past the opposition in the corners. Then a mean ol’ BMW M3 shows up, and shockingly (sarcasm) the $60,000 M3 beats the $25,000 Focus ST. But with all that leftover money, it isn’t hard to imagine the kind of modifications you could make to turn the Focus ST into a BMW killer.
We’re looking forward to the next four episodes of the Focus ST sessions.