Innehållsförteckning för April 2018 från Fast Ford

WELCOME TO THE APRIL ISSUE! Can you really believe that the RS brand is 50 years old this year? During the last half-century the good Ford has given us plenty of sporty models, but it's always been the Rallye Sport variants at the top of the tree. From the early Escorts of the '70s right through to the very latest Focus, the fastest Fords (in the UK at least!) always wore the iconic RS lettering on their behind! To celebrate these legendary Blue Ovals we've compiled a list of every single fast Ford to wear the famous moniker. Oh, and we've got a cracking pull-out poster with all RS models on for this issue too! But fast Fords are not just a thing of the past. Yes, they have a…

EVENT REPORT AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL 2018 Seen as the curtain-raiser to the year ahead, we check out the first show of the season to see what’s going to be big in 2018 for the Ford fan… Words JAMIE / Photos JAMIE, MATT SAYLE, AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL, IAN TAYLOR WHERE NEC, Birmingham WHEN January 2018 Christmas has been and gone. The New Year hangover has finally settled down. And now it’s the middle of what always seems to be the longest and most cash-strapped month of the year. So, with payday still weeks away and horrid weather putting a stop to any chance of playing around with our cars, what are we to do…? Autosport! That’s what. Autosport International is the first big event on the calendar every year, and after the Christmas…

MUSTANG BLUE STEEL There’s more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking. But when you’re packing a supercharged Coyote motor, those pretty looks don’t hurt a bit… Words DAN BEVIS / Photos MATT RICHARDSON “The idea was to create a retro Mach 1 as close in spirit to the original car as possible, sourcing OEM Ford parts and modifying them to look modern” The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.” So said Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects, and it’s a perennial truth that resonates today. If you dig around in the specs of this car, you’ll discover that it isn’t a 6th-generation Mustang Mach 1 – because such a thing has never been created. And yet, as the flashbulbs pop,…

FIESTA MK2 POWER HUNGRY 187bhp in a Mark 2 Fiesta. That’s enough, right? Not if you’re Ryan Brown… Words EMMA WOODCOCK / Photos ADE BRANNAN Listen up, stats fans. I’m about to lay down some knowledge. When they first hit the road, back between 1987 and 1989, any given example of the Mk2 Fiesta Festival wheezed a spectacular 49bhp from its 1117cc inline four. You could say that’s too much power for a car of this size, that man was never meant to travel so fast and that Ford was downright irresponsible for offering a car with a whole 61lb.ft to the general public. You could say these things, but you would be wrong. Let’s be a bit more honest: that’s quite simply no power at all. It might be…

CLUB MEET FORD ST-OC AT DEVIL DEVELOPMENTS WHERE DEVIL DEVELOPMENTS, LITTLEHAMPTON WHEN NOVEMBER 2017 What better way to spend a Saturday than being surrounded by some fast Fords as they hit the dyno… Words & photos DAVY LEWIS When the ST-OC crew were looking for a venue for their dyno day, Devil Developments was their number one choice. The Littlehamptonbased specialists are one of the go-to people for tuning and maintaining fast Fords, and they’ve carved an enviable reputation for creating savagely quick cars. With over 20 cars booked in for dyno runs, plus many others parked up outside, we were set for a busy day. Unfortunately, nobody told the weather – which was freezing cold and raining. But the ST-OC members are made of strong stuff and there was…

WHAT'S NEW MONTE MASTERCLASS See what’s going down in the world of fast Fords... Current WRC Champions, Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, got the 2018 season underway with the perfect start in Monte-Carlo recently! The Frenchmen lead the gruelling rally from start to finish, bringing their Fiesta WRC home 58 seconds ahead of the field to earn the first victory in their title defence, and their fifth consecutive Monte-Carlo win! Ogier said: “We always face tough conditions at Rallye Monte-Carlo but this year they were really extreme. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled so much with the tyre choices, so to have come out on top is fantastic. I think everyone made mistakes this weekend – myself included – but it was almost impossible to have the perfect drive. Luckily…

STEEDA Q500 ENFORCER Steeda recently unveiled the Q500 ‘Enforcer’ Mustang to European buyers. The ready-modified muscle car boasts a collection of Steeda upgrades already in place, taking the 5.0-litre V8’s power to a whopping 480bhp by combining a cold air intake system with a performance exhaust and revised mapping. The extra 70bhp over the standard Mustang GT is only half the story, though, as the Q500 comes ready kitted-out with Steeda’s famed suspension upgrades, a set of stunning 20in Velgen VMB7 alloys, and plenty of subtle cosmetic tweaks to give a factory-plus appearance. The Q500 joins the 2.3-litre EcoBoost Mustang-based Q350 and the Mondeo Sport in Steeda’s growing range of turn-key offerings for UK buyers. Prices for the Q500 start at £8998 over the base GT price and can be…

DOORSLAMMERS IS BACK! The much-loved drag racing event, The Doorslammers, is back for 2018. To find out more, we spoke to the event organisers. Here’s what they had to say… Q What made you bring The Doorslammers back? A The boss and CEO of Santa Pod, Keith Bartlett, is a Street Racer at heart and he's the man behind bringing the Doorslammers back. Not only does he love this ‘Outlaw’ type of racing, he’s also a lover of door cars and imported many iconic cars in the 70’s. Q The format of the racing is a little unusual, how will that work? A Saturday is qualifying day but with an open Run What Ya Brung format. Racers can run as little or often as they like to set their best…

S2 RS TURBO THE KRAKEN WAKES Legend has it that the Kraken is a colossal squid hellbent on giving anyone who comes near it a very hard time. It’s certainly been giving Neil Arcus a few sleepless nights… Words DAN BEVIS / Photos ADE BRANNAN Why is it called the Kraken?” grins Neil Arcus, affectionately patting the bonnet of his Mercury Grey RST. “Because the first time I drove it with 2-bar boost, it was so mental you needed eight arms to control it!” That’s a pretty bold opener. But then, for Neil, this passion runs deep. He’s always been a Ford man, ever since his first car – an ’83 XR3i in Strato Silver. Ok, there was a minor dalliance with Minis and VWs at one point, but he…

FAST FLEET Check out what’s been going on with our projects this month… DAN FOCUS ST Full boost pressure has been restored thanks to a new Turbosmart recirc valve, so now Dan's got his eyes on a full Stage 2 upgrade and even more power. But first, new wheels? WENNY MK3 ESCORT The Cossie-powered 4x4 Mk3 is back from paint, so reassembly can finally start. This month Wenny starts piecing the Escort back together... ADE SIERRA DRIFTER The plan was supposed to be to build a V8 drifter, but running repairs to the Cossie means the three-door is patiently waiting in Ade's new lock-up. JAMIE FOCUS RS Jamie's got plenty of plans for the RS, ranging from new wheels to more power upgrades. But first, like many Mk3 RS owners,…

HOW TO FIT FIESTA FUEL PUMP BUCKET HOW TO FIT FIESTA ST180 FUEL PUMP CAM FOLLOWER It’s a common cause of poor performance with the fabulous Mk7 Fiesta ST, so let’s see how to replace a worn fuel pump cam follower… Words & Photos DAN WILLIAMSON Renowned for its sharp performance, immense tunability and remarkable reliability, the Fiesta ST180 is also prone to one small snag that slashes all of those attributes – yet costs pennies and is easy to fix. Wear to the ST180’s fuel pump bucket (otherwise referred to as a cam follower) causes power loss, restricts modifications and can eventually lead to camshaft failure. But replacing it means half-an-hour’s work and a mere £20. It’s a complete no-brainer. But what is a fuel pump bucket, and where…

HEAD TO HEAD Ever wondered what it would be like to have all eight Ford Performance models on the same track at the same time? Well, Ford have. So, to find out they invited eight drivers from Chip Ganassi Racing, and put them in each of the models from the Ford Performance stable; F-150 Raptor, Fiesta ST (Mk7), new Fiesta ST (Mk8), Focus RS, Mustang GT, Mustang GT350R, GT road car, and GT race car. Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, Olivier Pla and Stefan Mücke from the World Endurance Championship, and Dirk Müller, Joey Hand, Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, each took the wheel of a Ford Performance model – setting off at intervals and culminating in an eight-way battle through the final bends and…

MK3 FOCUS RS UNDER THE RADAR When aeronautical engineer Ian Clark isn’t working on fighter jets, he’s flying about in his stealthy, 400bhp Focus RS… Words and photos DAVY LEWIS Finding the perfect location to photograph a feature car can be tricky. All of the best places – quarries, military bases, nuclear power stations – tend to be no-go areas. But every once in a while, we stumble upon something special – like a top-secret aeronautical test facility. Ian Clark is chief engineer at Martin Baker, a company that specialises in ejector seats for military jets, and they happen to own an airfield. Perfect. Unfortunately, on the day of the shoot the heavens open, so we can’t use the one-mile runway. “No problem,” smiles Ian. “I’ll just move a plane…

MK1 FOCUS RS BUILDING THE DREAM What started out as a light refresh, has progressed into a total transformation for Shane Tudor’s immaculate Mk1 Focus RS… Words and photos DAVY LEWIS Blokes are funny creatures. If the missus asks us to do something around the house, like fix a leaking tap, or tidy the garage, we’ll do everything we can to avoid it. Suddenly, there’s an important ‘work’ email that needs our attention, or the dog needs walking (usually past the pub). But, when it comes to our cars, we often go to the other extreme. A seemingly simple fix or tweak often gets totally out of hand and, before you know it, you’ve removed half the interior, or pulled the engine. We actually like to give ourselves more work.…

50 YEARS OF RS Since 1968 fast Fords wearing the iconic Rallye Sport moniker have gone on to win races, rallies, and, ultimately, our hearts! To see why, we take a look at every model to come from the legendary RS stable... 1968-1970 15M RS ENGINE 1.7-litre Cologne V4 TRANSMISSION 4-speed, FWD POWER 69bhp TORQUE 99lb.ft TOP SPEED 96mph 0-60 13.7s 1968-1970 17M RS ENGINE 2.0-litre Cologne V6 TRANSMISSION 4-speed, RWD POWER 111bhp TORQUE 125lb.ft TOP SPEED 99mph 0-60 13.4s 1968-1970 20M RS ENGINE 2.3-litre Cologne V6 TRANSMISSION 4-speed, RWD POWER 125bhp TORQUE 139lb.ft TOP SPEED 106mph 0-60 10.8s 1970-1974 ESCORT RS1600 ENGINE 1.6-litre BDA TRANSMISSION 4-speed, RWD POWER 113bhp TORQUE 105lb.ft TOP SPEED 113mph 0-60 8.9s 1970-1974 ESCORT MEXICO ENGINE 1.6-litre Kent TRANSMISSION 4-speed, RWD POWER 86bhp TORQUE 92…

FF TECH BUYER’S GUIDE MONDEO ST200 Ford’s flagship model for the new millenium combined comfort and practicality with a throaty V6 engine and sporty handling, but poor sales mean it’s a forgotten Ford – now’s the time to bag one of these future classics before prices rise... “The ST200 hit UK showrooms in June 1999 as a nod to Ford’s ongoing success in the British Touring Car Championship” VITAL STATISTICS MADE 1999 to 2000 PRICE WHEN NEW £22,945 PRICE NOW £100 to £3000-plus POWER 201bhp TORQUE 170lb.ft TOP SPEED 141mph 0-60MPH 7.8 seconds NUMBER BUILT 4861 (1852 UK sales) Fast Fords traditionally follow a familiar pattern: highly-tuned engine, unique driver-focused suspension, fabulous exhaust note, funky wheels and sporty Recaro interior. Dynamic bodywork completes the mix, all the better when finished…