Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Fast Ford

See what’s going down in the world of fast Fords... With the rush towards SUVs, crossovers, and electric cars having a major impact on the modern car industry, Ford has chosen to cast aside several of its established models. First to go was the Mondeo, and then news broke that the Focus will also be shelved in 2025. Sadly, the cull hasn’t stopped there. It’s been a great 47 years for the Fiesta, but the party is officially coming to an end, with the final examples set to roll off Cologne’s production line in 2023. On top of that, the Galaxy and S-Max MPVs aren’t long for this world either, but you’ll forgive us for not focusing too much on them. Instead, the Fiesta – specifically the Fiesta ST hot…

When it comes to legendary Ford racing liveries, the Datapost Mk3 Escort touring cars of the 1980s are true old-school icons. The cars rightly gained the status because of their pace and success as much as their hardcore look – made up of bright red paintwork, contrasting (now retro) graphics and custom split-rim wheels. Campaigned by Richard Longman, the first cars were based on the naturally-aspirated RS1600i for 1983 and ’84, and proved pretty successful. The team then moved onto the more powerful RS Turbo for the 1985 and ’86 seasons; producing around 270bhp, they dominated their class and cemented their place in British touring car history. By 1987, Datapost and Longman had decided to finish their campaign on a high, but the cars left a legendary impression with Ford…

As this remarkable machine, so evocative of full-bore performance and the thrust of endurance racing, poses in the rain, we’re reminded of Steve McQueen’s ubiquitous 1971 quote: ‘Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing’s important to men who do it well. When you’re racing, it’s life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting’. In character as Michael Delaney, McQueen spoke those words in the iconic movie Le Mans – afilm that, lukewarmly received, grew to be celebrated as a ground-breaking piece that offered innovative camera-work and a visceral depiction of motor racing. Of course, the subject matter of the movie was the Le Mans 24-hour race of 1970, so the hero cars were the likes of the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512. If we want to…

I’ve been driving the ST for a couple of months now, and after a few thousand miles I can report it’s been a great all- rounder – I’ve even been averaging around 40mpg. The Recaros are comfy, and with Apple CarPlay and the excellent Bang & Olufsen stereo, it’s a nice place to be. But the ride is a tad too harsh for me. It’s odd, as it feels too stiff for the road but I imagine is still too soft for the track – it’s kind of the middle, and not very good at either. Having fitted sports springs to several previous project cars I know first-hand just how much of an improvement a well-specced set of lowering springs can be. And when I was talking to the guys…

I twas another weekend to forget for the Ford M-Sport team as the WRC headed to Spain for the penultimate event of the 2022 season. A season that started so well with a victory in Monte Carlo back in January has unravelled, with all four Puma Rally1 cars finishing behind all the Toyotas and Hyundais in Catalonia. There have been numerous setbacks and disappointments during the 2022 campaign for Malcolm Wilson’s team, but there has always been a glimmer of hope with the Puma showing it has the pace to compete at the front were it not for bad luck, mechanical issues, or driver error. That wasn’t the case in Spain. The Pumas suffered badly from understeer caused by overheating front tyres, meaning that none of M-Sport’s four entries could…

WHY YOU WANT ONE… ■ Fabulous out-of the-box performance – 165mph and the ability to hit 60mph in less than five seconds – can be boosted to 500bhp with off-the-shelf upgrades. ■ It’s reckoned to be the last ever Ford RS, so the Mk3 Focus is a cast-iron collector’s piece – especially in Edition guise. ■ Focus only on driveability, and the Mk3 RS is an immense machine – happy nipping to the shops, tearing around a track or being an absolute hooligan in Drift Mode. WHY YOU DON’T… ■ Reliability hasn’t exactly been a Focus RS strong point: many much-publicised problems – notably head gasket failure – left it with an iffy reputation and many owners never recovering from nagging worries. ■ Whichever way you look at it, the…

After selling his Sierra Cosworth, Mark George had his heart set on an Escort Cosworth, only to discover prices had just begun to go through the roof. Instead, he opted for a Mk2 Focus RS and, although it may have been his second choice, it hasn’t stopped Mark turning it into something special. Mark’s been a modified car fan all his life, but it was back in 1992 when he first became involved with a full-on project. He remembers, “My dad started building an AC Cobra replica, and I’d help him out in the garage. We finished the car just in time for my prom in 1994.” Building a Cobra replica is undoubtedly on many petrolheads’ bucket lists, and although Mark could cross it off his list, it wasn’t exactly…

p48 JASON FIESTA ST MK8 Jason’s already secured new wheels and tyres, and a set of Mountune lowering springs for the Mk8 ST. And he’s not stopping there. p50 FAST FORD REP TO RACE CAR MONDEO The Mondeo is at BD Performance having a Helix clutch and flywheel upgrade, ahead of a block mod and a few other tweaks to follow too. p46 ADE SAPPHIRE COSWORTH With the Saph finally back on the road, Ade looks back at all the ups and downs of the last five years off the road. JAMIE FOCUS RS MK3 Sold! Jamie made the shock decision to sell the RS. What will come next? Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see. DAN FOCUS ST250 The Focus is in daily service, but Dan’s been buying…

QUICK SPEC ■ Mondeo 2.5T ■ 19in Rotiform BUC-M alloys ■ Toyo R888R tyres ■ Scorpion Red Power turbo-back exhaust ■ custom wrap by 3M ■ PB coilovers ■ Airtec intercooler ■ EBC 4-pot front callipers ■ Ramair filter and crossover ■ Corbeau bucket seats ■ Luke harnesses ■ Helix organic clutch upgrade Our Mondeo’s transformation from repmobile to race car is almost complete. The suspension, wheels, tyres and brakes have all been taken care of. And with the removal of the stock interior and fitting of bucket seats and race harnesses, the whole thing is starting to feel a lot racier to drive too. That leaves one last major hurdle to overcome: power. We’ve got a plan in place and have already been speaking to Martin Collins at Collins…

TECH SPEC MK2 ESCORT ENGINE 2.3-litre 16v Duratec engine built by DTW Competition Engines, SBD Throttle Bodies, Dry Sump POWER 320bhp and 225lb.ft torque WEIGHT 950kg TRANSMISSION Tractive Motorsport Transmissions six-speed sequential gearbox with flat shift, ZF limited-slip differential SUSPENSION Bilstein 2.25in coilovers, front and rear anti-roll bars, rose-jointed compression struts and lower arms, six-link (Watt’s) Atlas semi-floating axle BRAKES Front: AP5000 Pro callipers with 315mm vented discs and floating bells; rear: Wilwood Dynapro callipers and solid discs WHEELS & TYRES 8.5x17in (front) and 9.5x17in (rear) Revolution split-rim alloy wheels with Yokohama A005 slicks or wets EXTERIOR Polycarbonate windows, fibreglass bonnet and boot lid, Gartrac special alloy arches, self-fabricated custom rear wing INTERIOR Fully seam-welded shell, weldin multi-point roll cage, race seat, harness, plumbed-in fire suppression system HISTORY OF THE…

First things first. When you buy almost any Ford model to modify, it’s almost universally accepted that you begin with a cold-air induction kit. It doesn’t matter how much horsepower a kit adds to your car, and it’s not really relevant that you’ll hear a certain section of owners’ groups saying your particular car is better left alone with a standard airbox. The fact is that most induction kits give your car a sportier sound. The majority help it to breathe more easily, and a vast percentage of owners reckon their car feels quicker with a performance air filter setup. Of course, not all are created equally. Some cheap kits are rather restrictive, plenty allow hot air to be sucked into the engine instead of cool, and there’s often a…

Ford Live at Knockhill may be one of the last Blue Oval events of the year – being held at the end of September – but it’s definitely worth a visit. No, this year’s didn’t boast the scorching summer weather we’ve been used to (and our hasty change from shorts to trousers on arrival confirmed that), but the warm reception given to all Ford fans more than made up for it. In the first paddock area we marvelled at an outrageous display of bafflingly perfect concours cars, like Stephen Gibson’s epic RWD Saph and Allan Lewis with his famous Focus RS, (who apparently will be sadly retiring from the show scene after this event). Once again Tom Blackwood wowed the crowds with a full-sized car transporter bringing the finest fast…

Autosport International and Kelsey Media have joined forces in their hunt for the UK’s best-tuned car. Featuring vehicles from across the UK’s tuned car scene, the Performance and Tuning Car Show is back bigger than ever for 2023. While hundreds of modified cars will descend on Birmingham’s NEC this January, the teams are looking to bring along three of the UK’s top-tuned cars to display at the event. Applications have been open for the last few weeks, but by the time this issue lands in the shops, judges will have chosen the short-list and voting will be open over on the show’s website for you to decide which of the three contenders make it to the show. Voting closes on November 30, so you’ve only got a few days to…

BURTON POWER CROSSFLOW ALLOY ROCKER COVER £139.90 If you are looking to dress up your Ford’s engine bay then Burton Power has just the thing — aBurton-branded alloy red rocker cover, suitable for all Pre-Crossflow and Crossflow Kent engines. The rocker cover will secure to the original holes in the cylinder head using four FP453 bolts. www.burtonpower.com MOUNTUNE MK6 FIESTA ST CARBON AIRBOX LID £179 If you’ve already got one of Mountune’s acclaimed cold air induction systems on your Mk6 Fiesta ST, then this new carbon fibre replacement is a great way to add a motorsport look to your engine bay. The inherent heat-transfer benefits of the carbon fibre will also help keep unwanted heat away from the cone filter itself. It’s available in a matt finish and supplied with…

Many of us have a fast Ford dream build tucked away in our minds. Back in the day, for the slightly older readers among us, that was often a 500bhp Cosworth or a 300bhp RS Turbo – both of which were notoriously costly and difficult to achieve. Thankfully, modern technology, coupled with a fresh thinking approach, has made these dream builds more accessible and easier to achieve, as Chris Beachim – the owner of this immaculate track-prepared Escort – knows first-hand. He explains, “I’ve always wanted a 300bhp RS Turbo. That was my plan for a long time, but it grew as more things became available, like the electronics and gearbox conversion.” Leading up to this build, Chris had owned every kind of fast Ford – from a Mk1 XR2…

Crazy projects like these always seem to have an odd sense of pace to them. Regular readers will have no doubt seen that initial progress tends to be slow: the tear-down is exciting, but then things slow down while you work out where everything is going to go, and try to figure out how it is all going to work. And then, when all the prep work is done, progress gathers pace again. Well, that’s exactly where we’re at with the Ranger. The pick-up was quickly pulled apart, but then came the laborious task of stripping everything back to the bare chassis, inspecting and assessing parts as they came off to determine if they are useable, salvageable, or need to be binned. Last time, we showed you the cab and…

The British GT season finale at Donington Park in October was a two-hour title showdown with Ford, BMW, Aston Martin, Porsche, Toyota, and Audi teams battling for overall and class GT4 honours. Academy Motorsport was in contention, with hopes of claiming a top-three class position. For Academy, it was the sports car debut for American VRD protégé, Erik Evans. Having enjoyed a strong season – including victory at Donington Park earlier in the season – Matt Cowley and Marco Signoretti were there to complete their season, sharing the No.61 Mustang. Academy Motorsport stalwart Will Moore made his return to the team for the first time this season, joined by the instantly likeable Erik Evans in the No. 62 car. Mixed conditions during qualifying had the cars starting on the fourth…

T aking a fast Fiesta and making it faster isn’t something new. In fact, it’s something owners and enthusiasts have been doing right from the launch of the very first sporting Mk1s, and it’s a tradition that is very much still alive today. Not only is it alive, but it’s thriving; improving the performance and styling of the latest fast Fiesta is easier than it ever has been before. Building on the massive Mk7 Fiesta ST tuning scene, the foundations for improving the performance of the Mk8 ST were already in place even before the car was launched, with numerous specialists all quick to get to grips with the upgrades. Today we’re well catered for: whether it’s just a stealthy, simple first-stage remap or a full-on bigturbo, big-power monster you’re…

It’s no secret that the Fiesta is not long for this world. After 46 years of continuous production and earning the accolade of Britain’s most popular car (with over 1.5m on the road), Ford has called time on the famous little hatchback. No doubt it will be replaced with an EV of some kind – most likely using a platform shared with similar-sized VWs. Over the past five decades, there have been several Fiesta concepts that have caught our attention, but perhaps the most unusual was the Fiesta Fantasy from the 1980s. Based on the Mk1, the Fantasy promised to be all things to all men: from flashy convertible to utilitarian pick-up, from twoseater sports car to load-lugging estate. The idea of having one car that could tackle every job…