Motormatic Drives Shelby Focus ST – Is This The Future of Rodding?

With the OE’s under more and more pressure to produce better MPG numbers, we all know that smaller cars and smaller engines are the way of the future. As much as we hate to admit it and as sad as it will make us – the day is likely to come when big, burly V8’s in imposing muscle cars will finally go the way of the dinosaurs. But where does that leave us performance enthusiasts? We’ll always have the need for speed, and companies are likely keep indulging that desire as long as they can keep selling more cars.

When we were reading a recent review of the Shelby Focus ST from Motormatic, we couldn’t help but wonder if performance cars like this are a glimpse at what will eventually become the norm from American car makers. Oh, and before you get all huffy with Shelby for taking on a front-wheel-drive model with a small turbo engine, let us remind you that this isn’t the first time they’ve done this. (Google “Shelby Dodge Omni” sometime when you get a chance.)  

The stock power rating of a Focus ST is 252 horsepower; a respectable number considering how light and nimble the car actually is. Shelby’s tuning magic comes in the form of a Borla twin-tip exhaust, a bigger intercooler, and a bigger turbo which results in a 20% power increase over stock to 300 crank-horsepower.

The Shelby Focus ST comes dressed in standard Shelby attire, pained a stark white with thin blue stripes. Of course, the car also gets a host of brake and suspension upgrades to help fight the abundant torque steer produced by the wrong-wheel-drive.

The cost? Oh, just about $40,000 large…for a Ford Focus…

That’s a lot of cash, but even we were encouraged by Motormatic’s review of the Shelby ST. Writer Alex Lloyd called the feel of the 300 horsepower front wheel drive pocket-rocket “refreshingly uncivilized”. Well, maybe cars like this aren’t all that different from our beloved muscle cars after all? Let us know what you think in the comments below.