To say that Jarrett Black is a hot hatch enthusiast is a bit of an understatement. You see, Jarrett is on another level completely when it comes to his heavily modified 2013 Ford Focus ST. And one look at his car and the work that has been done to make this hot hatch an extension of himself is proof of that.

Jarrett hails from Lake Mary, Florida, and is the owner of Darkmatter Designs Inc. His company specializes in designing aftermarket rear diffusers, front splitters, and spoilers extensions for a wide variety of vehicles. He also 3d prints parts and mounts as well. His Instagram has quite the following, and when you take the time to check out his page, it’s clear to see he has a passion for artistic design. His passion for the Ford Performance hot hatch began back in 2013 when he visited his local Ford dealership shopping for a new daily driver.

Hot Hatch Obsession

“I initially went into my Ford dealership looking for a daily driver because my Infiniti Q45 had kicked the bucket,” Jarrett said. “They had an all-black, 2013 Focus ST sitting on the showroom floor. Once I sat in it, I immediately fell in love with it. I asked the dealership if I could take the ST for a test drive, and I was hooked.”

Unfortunately, the dealership didn’t have the exact color he wanted at the time. So rather than having to settle for the selection on hand, Jarrett took the time to do a little research on the available color options for the ST.

“I went home that night and found a Ford Focus ST in Tangerine Scream that was available in Miami, which is about a five hours away,” Jarrett continued. “I went back to my dealership the next day and told them which one I wanted. And a couple of days later, I got the call to come and pick up my new daily driver!”

Built Boosted Build

Jarrett is no stranger to customizing hot hatches either. His previous builds include a heavily modified Honda Civic CRX and his slammed 1999 Infinity Q45.

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For Jarrett, his Focus ST build began after visiting the Fifteen52 wheel website. He fell in love with the way the wheels not only looked but performed on the hot hatch. It was at that moment that he decided to design his ST around the stance and look of this particular brand of wheel.

“I build my cars to my own imagination. I build them the way I think they should be. They are an extension of me so to speak,” he explained. “A lot of my inspiration comes from road-race cars and the aerodynamic structure they have.”

The Wheel Deal

Building your car around a set of wheels and tires sounds like an easy task, but for Jarrett, it proved a lot harder than he had thought. “I have been through 4 different set of wheels on my Tangerine Scream Focus ST. I started off with a set of 18×9.5 ESM 007, switched to a set of 18×9.5 Fifteen52 Tarmacs in white, then a set of original 18×8.5 tarmacs in Ink Black and now I have a set of 19×8.5 r43 in Carbon Gray showing up this month.”

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"I have been through four different set of wheels on my Tangerine Scream Focus ST," Jarrett Black confessed.

Once he found the right wheel and tire setup, it was time to work on the ST’s Stance. Jarrett admits that achieving the perfect ride height was no easy task.

“My vehicle’s suspension was probably my biggest trial and error,” he said. “I went with lowering springs first and moved to coilovers and went for a nice low stance. But once I did this, I realized the rear subframe had shifted to the driver’s side. Setting the frame, camber and toe was an ongoing process because I was doing all the work myself.”

Getting Low

His solution was to perform a full suspension upgrade with Airlift. Jarrett chose the company’s 3H performance suspension which is an air management system that uses both height and pressure sensors to provide the most innovative air suspension control ever.

He also performed many significant suspension tweaks, as well as including Airlift’s rear lower control arms, camber upgrades and installing a Steeda Autosports’ rear sway bar.

The result is a Focus ST that not only looks the part, but can handle just about any weekend corner-carving session you throw at it – stance complete!

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In the back of the hot hatch, Jarrett designed a custom Airlift trunk setup which features black hardware and a painted white pearl tank with polished lines. A LED etched glass plate with his own Darkmatter Designs logo is also on display. The entire trunk is wrapped in black cowhide leather.

EcoBoost Power

Now that the vehicle was sitting pretty and ready to tackle the road ahead, it was finally time for some performance upgrades. We already know that the Focus ST’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine is putting out some impressive numbers from the factory.

However, Jarrett was building a vehicle that not only looked good on the outside but could hold it’s own in the performance department as well.

“When I first purchased the vehicle, my first upgrade was an inexpensive K&N air filter. From there, I started my bolt-ons, including a COBB V2 Accessport, front-mount intercooler, and a cheap downpipe,” he said.

And as with most of us, his performance upgrades continued to grow.

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Jarrett also installed a WC Lathe Works stainless steel shift knob with the Mountune yellow stitched shift boot.

Before he knew it, Jarrett was pulling the trigger on the popular Milltek dual exhaust, downpipe and Velossa Tech Big Mouth ram air intake. The package was custom tuned by Stratified Automotive Controls, and the results were an impressive 287 horsepower and 360 lb-ft or torque at the front wheels!

Jarrett’s list of exterior mods is quite extensive. It’s also important to point out that he performed all the work himself, including paint and fabrication. But one of the coolest modifications on this ST has to be the custom Darkmatter Designs rear diffuser.

“My rear diffuser was something I came up with after my Maxton rear bumper section shattered one night on the way home from work,” he explained. “At that point, I decided to go dual exhaust and crazy diffuser. The next day I took a saw and cut off what was left of the bumper and started taking measurements for the new exhaust and diffuser.”

Jarrett purchased the Milltek 3-inch exhaust system and customized it to fit the new diffuser. The end result was a full 3-inch dual exhaust and high-flow downpipe that not only sounds insane but looks incredible as well.

Future Upgrades?

We asked Jarrett what his plans were for any future upgrades. And, as expected, he is far from throwing in the towel just yet.

“At this point, my plans are a turbo upgrade, big brake kit, and possibly even an AWD conversion,” he said.

Ask anyone who has spent any time with Jarrett, and they will tell you that he is always thinking about that next big upgrade. As hot hatch enthusiasts ourselves, we can’t wait to see what he has in store next for his Focus ST!

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Jarrett custom built the Focus ST's rear diffuser so that it would match up with the new Milltek dual exhaust.

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Along with the rear diffuser, he also designed his own carbon fiber front splitter. Jarett chose to install Anderson Composites carbon fiber RS spoiler and front fenders to give the ST that custom look.