Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i Fast Ford

MUSTANG GT4 EUROPEAN DEBUT Ford Performance decided to give us European fans a glimpse of the mighty Mustang GT4 when they entered the final race of the 2017 season at Circuit Paul Ricard recently. Fans would have seen the turn-key racer take to the iconic hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed recently, but the idea behind the special exhibition debut was to showcase the speed and versatility of the Mustang GT4 on a well-established race track, after all the GT4 has been designed especially for road racing circuits around the world. Ford Performance’s global director, Dave Pericak says: “We’ve already had success with the Ford Mustang GT4 in the U.S.; now it’s time to show potential customers what it can do at a respected European track like Paul…

COMPETITION COMPETITION WIN FOCUS ST UPGRADES EIBACH ! Fancy uprating your facelifted Focus ST’s springs and anti-roll bars with some performance upgrades? Enter this month’s competition then… When the Ford Focus ST facelift was released, the engineers at Eibach responded with their updated chassis solution. With different front springs on the facelift model this meant a fresh design for their highly-acclaimed Pro-Kit. This four-spring upgrade will lower the vehicle 25mm all round, enhancing the car’s positive stance and lowering the centre of gravity to improve handling and any bias to roll. Computer-matched to the factory dampers these progressively wound springs will work hard to maintain excellent ride quality. But Eibach didn’t just stop development with lowering springs for the new ST. Next up came the precision-manufactured anti-roll bar kit. This…

SIERRA RS COSWORTH FIELD FIND It’s pretty common in mainland Europe to spot old cars casually rotting away in fields – it’s the new ‘barn find’! But if it’s a genuine Sierra RS Cosworth? No, enough’s enough, you’ve got to get it out of there… Words DAN BEVIS / Photos ADE BRANNAN There are many historic paths that lead us into the passion we all share for these entertaining old Ovals. For some, it can be the simple act of watching BTCC races on TV instead of going out to play football in the park; for others it could be the open-shirted wideboy down the street who used to prowl around in a chrome-laden Cortina with the rump jacked up, or the hooligans in their S1 RS Turbos who would…

FAST FLEET Check out what’s been going on with our projects this month… JAMIE FOCUS RS The RS has racked up some miles this month - over 1100 in fact! – attending shows and various features across the country, which means it's filthy! Oh, and Jamie's broken the front splitter too! JAMIE MONDEO ST220 The Mondeo is still on Jamie’s ‘must sort out’ list, but it’s working perfectly as a family run-around with a dog in the boot and baby on the back seat! DAN SIERRA COSSIE Progress with the barn in which it's stored means work on the Cossie will soon resume... well, that's what Dan keeps promising anyway...! MOTORBASE FOCUS BTCC CARS The Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo Focuses sign off the 2017 BTCC season with an…

MOTORBASE FOCUS BTCC SEASON SIGN-OFF The Motorbase crew end the 2017 season with an Independent Win… Photos MATT SAYLE The changeable weather conditions at Brands Hatch posed all the teams a bit of a puzzle when it came to tyre choice for Sunday’s opening race. For us, both Mat Jackson and Martin Depper opted for slicks, while highest-place qualifier (P12) Rory Butcher decided to gamble with wets. Initially it looked like a wise move, but as the track dried out it soon favoured those running slicks. This was good news for Mat, who carved his way through the field from his P15 starting position to P5 by the end of lap 3! He then set his sights on P4 on the next lap, but unfortunately the gap to the leading…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT DAVID JONES MUSTANG V8 David brought along his company demo car to be a part of the huge Simply Mustangs UK display stand. David usually spends his time tinkering with mighty Ford GTs at his workplace, GT101, but in recent years they have turned their attention to another of Ford’s V8 monsters and started offering tuning and styling upgrades for the new S550 Mustang too. This is actually the company’s second UK-spec Mustang, the first featured simple Stage 1 upgrades to the exhaust and suspension, but this car has been treated to a whole lot more! “We’ve added a Whipple supercharger conversion to this one,” smirks David, “which is a direct bolt-on kit that delivers around 600bhp from the stock engine.” Under the bonnet you’ll find a…

FF TECH ALL ABOUT BRAKES PART TWO Following on from last month’s feature, now we look at the world of brake pads, brake fluids, brake cooling, and more… If you haven’t read part one of our ‘All About: Brakes’ feature from last issue yet, go and grab a copy now and swot up quickly. This month we build upon the lessons learnt from part one and now it’s time to look at the more complex issues with performance brake systems. This month we’ll take an in-depth look at brake pads, brake lines, brake fluids, brake balance, the bedding-in process and brake cooling too. All of which can have enormous effects on the overall braking performance of your car. So go and grab a quick cuppa, sit back, and prepare to learn…

WHAT'S NEW KEN BLOCK'S ESCORT COSSIE What’s going down in the world of fast Fords... Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Mr. Block has got a great taste in motors. And his latest addition is arguably the best yet! It’s not got huge wide arches, it doesn’t wear an in-your-face livery, and it doesn’t boast any attention-grabbing add-ons to ensure it gets a bazillion hits on YouTube. Nope, none of that. Instead, from the outside it looks fairly tame, has a standard silhouette, and is finished in plain white with minimal 'Hoonigan' stickers. But what it is, is absolutely mental! You see, what the DC Shoe-wearing , Monster Energy-drinking, gymkhana star has got himself is an Escort Cosworth! And not just any Escort Cosworth! Don’t let the…

WHAT'S NEW DRIVEN REVO STAGE 1 & STAGE 2 FOCUS RS We get behind the wheel of REVO’s current offerings for the Mk3 Focus RS… Words & Photos JAMIE "The throttle feels much more alive, and the car is much keener to get up and go – it’s like it’s egging you on when a part throttle..." After months of testing and weeks of hype all over the forums and Facebook pages, REVO’s eagerly-awaited Stage 2 upgrade package for the Mk3 Focus RS is finally here, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a go behind the wheel! But before that, I also got to have a go in their Stage 1-equipped RS too, so I could feel the difference the first power upgrade makes, and then be able to…

ESCORT RST REALISING THE DREAM Having loved Series 2 RSTs, since the age of 12, Dean Roberts finally has one to be proud of… and it’s a little screamer Words DRIVEN AUTOMOTIVE MEDIA / Photos MATT DEAR Getting older is crap. The grown-up world may seem an enticing proposition when you’re a kid, but as we all eventually realise, a life of bills and mundane work is a lot less fun than arsing around on your bike at the park. It’s crazy really – we spend our childhoods wishing we were grown-up, and as soon as we are, we look back to those carefree days and wish we could go back. Life’s funny like that. It’s not all bad though. One good thing about getting older is that you can…

MK1 FOCUS ALL -AMERICAN PROJECTS Daniel Dudley’s supercharged Focus wasn’t special enough… so he added a hefty dose of Stateside styling Words EMMA WOODCOCK / Photos MATT DEAR Stars and spangles and banners. Drive through weddings, eight lane highways and all you can eat meat. Death Valley, the Appalachian Mountains or the mighty Mississippi. These are all things that might come to mind when someone talks about the United States of America. Narrow it down to cars and you’ll likely start picturing burnouts and NASCAR, Mustangs and swaggering, braggering V8s. Throw all that away. We’re here to talk about a Mk1 Focus. Not any old European Focus, mind. We’re focusing (yes, that was a pun and you’ll get over it) on the US-only ZX3 SVT. Check the boxout if you…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT PETER WOOLTORTON SAPPHIRE COSWORTH One of the most talked about cars at the show this year was, Snow Storm, Pete’s distinctive Sapphire Cosworth. Those new to the scene might question some of the odd design and performance upgrades fitted to this car – such as the twin front brake caliper setup, twin exhaust tailpipes, and definitely the dubious three-spoke alloys! – but the older fans among you will know that this Saph is one very special car, and the questionable upgrades are true to original build! This car was built back in the 90s, and formed part of a formidable collection of demonstrators for legendary Ford tuners, Turbosystems. Alongside its stablemates, Thunder Storm, Rally Storm, and Desert Storm, Snow Storm was part of the iconic tiger-striped Turbosystems…

Better Braking Stops Here Choose from 3 stages of brake system upgrade to suit any vehicle and budget: STAGE one Sport Discs & Pads Improve braking by up to 30% from stock. • 4 brake disc and 5 pad options to choose from. • Pads are 100% UK made and range from our entry-level street upgrade Greenstuff™, to our flagship sport road material Yellowstuff™, to our highest performing track material Orangestuff™. • Sold as separates or save 15% if bought as a Pad+Disc kit. STAGE two Pad+Line Kits Maximise the performance of your vehicle’s stock braking system. • Braided lines give firmer pedal coupled with fade resistant sport pads front and rear. • Choose ‘Performance Packs’ with Yellowstuff™ pads for road use or ‘Track Packs’ with Orangestuff™ race pads for…

M-SPORT LEAD WRC Fresh off the back of a double-podium at Rally De Espana, M-Sport currently top the tables in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championships. Heading to the team’s home event at Rally GB, Sebastien Ogier leads the way in the Drivers’ tables with 198 points, followed by fellow M-Sport Fiesta WRC driver, Ott Tanak, in second with 161 points. As a result, that also means that M-Sport are currently sitting at the top of the Manufacturers’ table too, currently 83 points clear of their closest rivals Hyundai. As we go to print, with just two more events to go (Rally GB and Rally Australia), the right result at Rally GB will see M-Sport wrap up the Manufacturers’ title on home turf before they head to Australia. And will…

WHAT'S NEW NEW STUFF Latest gear on the Blue Oval scene BURTON PINTO EXHAUST £780 Burton Power has recently become a dealer for Simpson Race Exhausts, and the first hand-made exhaust manifold available off the shelf is this stainless-steel 4-into-1 design suitable for Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts running well-tuned Pintos. Featuring equal-length primaries, it’s manufactured from 304 grade stainless steel with a wall thickness of 1.2 mm, and the joints are gas purged TIG welded. 020 8518 9127, www.burtonpower.com RALLY DESIGN HELICAL LSD £478.80 Rally Design’s new Blackline helical gear-type limited-slip diff is suitable for most of Ford’s front-wheel-drive output of the ‘80s and ‘90s running the BC and IB5 gearboxes. Featuring gentle and progressive engagement, low noise, and easily-controlled power take-off, with no clutches to wear out,…

MK2 FOCUS RS FORCE OF NATURE Noisy, fast and fearsome. This 670bhp Focus RS has earned the nickname ‘Tornado’… Words DAN GOODYER / Photos MATT WOODS You don’t mess with Mother Nature. Ask anyone caught up in the destruction caused recently by Tropical Storm Harvey, which left much of Texas in the United States under water. Or the sheer ferocity of Hurricane Irma, that literally ripped through the Caribbean Islands with winds of up to 200mph. The sheer energy and awe on display during natural events like these is unbelievable, which makes ‘Tornado’ a fitting nickname for a thundering 5-pot Focus RS forcing 670bhp and 702lb.ft of torque through the front wheels. It’s a masterpiece created by Craig Peaceful, a 46 year-old chef from Norfolk. He’d wanted a Mk2 Focus…

SAPPHIRE COSWORTH PERFECT TIMING Having always fancied piloting a tuned Sapphire Cosworth, when James Parkinson was presented with the right car at the right time he took full advantage of the opportunity. And he’s been smiling ever since… Words and photos JON CASS Make no mistake, the Sierra Sapphire Cosworth has become one of the most iconic cars of its generation. For many, it’s the bags of power, tuning potential and sheer full-on driving experience all rolled up into a practical family saloon that makes the Saph Cossie such a sought after car. For 34-year-old James Parkinson, it was all of these plus the understated ‘80s looks that ensured he would fulfil the promise he’d made himself at an early age to ‘one day own a Cossie’. “There happened to…

EVENT REPORT FORD FEST 2017 FORD FEST 2017 Despite a wet start, Ford Fest saw thousands of dedicated Blue Oval enthusiasts see off the 2017 show season in style… Words JAMIE / Photos MATT DEAR & CHRIS FROSIN WHERE SANTA POD WHEN SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH Now in its third year, 2017 was by far the wettest Ford Fest on record. But despite this, and thanks to the efforts of the organisers and the sheer dedication of the Blue Oval enthusiasts that attended, the show was still packed full of the tastiest motors the Ford scene has to offer! And the drag strip even saw some fast and frantic action once everything had started to dry off too, including the always-impressive jet car! The huge club areas were simply bursting with…

EVENT REPORT FORD THRASH AT CRAIL FORD THRASH AT CRAIL We catch up with the guys and gals that headed to the annual Blue Oval bash at Crail Raceway recently… Words & Photos ADE BRANNAN WHERE CRAIL RACEWAY WHEN SUNDAY AUGUST 27TH The annual Ford Thrash at Crail has become one of the must-attend events for any Ford fans north of the border, but in recent years has attracted a good turnout of English followers joining the ever-enthusiastic Scottish Blue Oval boys at the Raceway. This year was no different, with an excellent number of cars making an appearance! No doubt the good weather helped attendance figures, but so too did the excellent array of fast Fords on display at previous events, the huge number of prizes and awards up…

BUYER’S GUIDE FOCUS RS MK Now celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, the first-ever RS-badged Focus is a surefire classic Ford in the making... Words DAN WILLIAMSON / Photos MATT WOODS “The first properly fast Focus was the car that revived the legendary Rallye Sport brand after a decade in the doldrums...” Introduced in October 2002, the first properly fast Focus was the car that revived the legendary Rallye Sport brand after a decade in the doldrums. The Focus RS was designed by Ford’s SVE (Special Vehicle Engineering) division to celebrate Ford’s successes in the World Rally Championship, complete with testing input from then-WRC heroes Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz. It was based on the ST170 three-door but with 521 unique components – many of which were sourced from suppliers to the…