No one ever said racing was cheap. As you well know, a lot changes when you yank out the interior, fit a full cage, upgrade your intercooler, install a limited-slip differential where there was none before, specify adjustable dampers and antiroll bars, slap on all-new brakes... need we go on?
So yes, you can go down to your Ford dealership and order a Focus ST-R, which features the turbocharged and direct-injected, 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine. Just be prepared for it to cost about two-and-a-half times as much as the Focus ST road car. Pricing on the Focus ST-R, offered by Ford Racing (the same people who bring you the Cobra Jet Mustangs) comes in at $99,000. Ford is selling it with eye toward people racing it in the Grand Am series (who have sponsors), but if you're flush with cash, you could just trailer it to track days, too.
Deliveries will start in 2012, sometime after March, we're told, right about when the infinitely more streetable 2013 Ford Focus ST begins shipping out to dealers.
We took a bunch of photos of the ST-R, as well as a few of the new Formula Ford car that makes use of the 177-hp, turbocharged, 1.6-liter EcoBoost inline-4 featured in the Fiesta ST concept shown here in Frankfurt. No word on when it will be exported to North America, as Ford will limit sales to Europe initially since there's already a Formula Ford series in the U.K. -- and thus a guaranteed customer base.
trey_mont says:
04:00 PM, 09/15/11
I'll pass. for 99K I'll take a GT-R
church123 says:
04:37 PM, 09/15/11
Your GT-R won't survive a wheel to wheel race in stock form. Nor will you want to pay the costs of fixing it after each race. Believe me, the cost of racing is a multiplier on the original value of a car. It will literally cost you 4x as much in running costs to campaign a GT-R as it would a Focus.
That said, $99k is a lot for what you are getting. True, it is turn key and that means something for someone who just wants to take the car to the track and go. But there aren't a lot of expensive parts here, and you could do better building your own.
For example, AST suspension is a good brand, but if you went with Penske or one of the other top brands (Moton, etc.) and did custom valving I'll bet you could do better.
Just going through the list of parts, I'm not sure I see an additional $60k in parts and labor.
- Roll cage fabrication and install - $2500 from a top builder
- Wheels and tires - $3000
- Dash, datalogger, cameras, electronics - $4000 installed
- Seat, harnesses, fire system, safety gear - $3000 installed
- Upgraded brakes - $2500 installed
- Top of the line suspension, custom valved, track tuned by a good shop, etc. - $10,000
- Upgraded transmission, clutch and differential - $5000 (assuming a 6spd is available from Ford already - this would be the arguably most difficult part if it isn't an off-the-shelf part).
- Upgraded intercooler, exhaust, etc. - $2000
- Custom ECU calibration (dyno tested) - $1000
At best I come up with $35k give or take, call it $40k if you want to wrap or paint the car when you're all done, and buy some spares too. And that is with having someone else perform all the work for you, buying the parts at retail, etc. Sounds like Ford and their builder will make some nice profit on this one. Good for them if it sells.
In reality, I suspect that there are a lot of Grand Am intenders that would probably buy the turnkey car anyways and then just mod it further.
stovt001 says:
10:17 AM, 09/16/11
The Grand Am Continental Tire Series has a very full grid, so apparently there is financial backing there. I'm excited to see a new entrant, especially one that can literally be bought as-is by the public, technically. Now that's production car racing.
stovt001 says:
10:17 AM, 09/16/11
The Grand Am Continental Tire Series has a very full grid, so apparently there is financial backing there. I'm excited to see a new entrant, especially one that can literally be bought as-is by the public, technically. Now that's production car racing.
sniperruff says:
10:18 AM, 09/16/11
Buy a used Mits Evo RS, strip out interiors, sell unnecessary parts, then you'll get a base car for under $30k. Tag on the $40k race prep guesstimate you're still ahead by $30k.
kennypi says:
10:07 PM, 09/16/11
Why pay the money ? because you will get a car set up from the get go, trying to do it your self will cost more all the base work has been done for you and that's what costs money.
kennypi says:
10:15 PM, 09/16/11
P.S. it will also come with an owners manual liker the Cobra Jet Mustangs http://www.fordracingparts.com/mustang/PDF/2010_Cobra_Jet_Owner_Guide4.pdf