Innehållsförteckning för July 2019 från Fast Ford

INTRO WELCOME TO THE JULY ISSUE! - Jamie King - Editor Let me ask you a simple question: 'What got you into the fast Ford scene in the first place?' Maybe you were brought-up around them? Perhaps your mates owned fast Fords and you were seduced? Or was it a famous car in a magazine or at a show that inspired you? My point is, there will almost always be a single moment in time that you can look back and say 'Yep, that's when I got into fast Fords'. For me, that day is still very clear in my mind. I was about 12 or 13 years-old, it was the school holidays so I was out with my dad at work (who was a windscreen fitter at the time)…

WHAT'S NEW NEWS See what’s going down in the world of fast Fords... FORD ANNOUNCES FOCUS ST WAGON Ford’s ST models have always offered accessible performance in practical and usable packages, sometimes arriving in unexpected bodystyles. While the concept of the fast estate may be well established in the modern era, it was still something of a radical notion back at the turn of the century, when Ford decided to offer the Focus ST170 (and Mondeo ST220) in estate form. This allowed family-friendly practicality combined with some pretty devastating performance, and it’s a tradition the sub-brand has continued to the present day. The previous-generation Mk3 Focus ST was offered in estate form and, as of May this year, we know that the current Mk4 Focus ST will also be brought…

WHAT'S NEW SHOW DATES 2019 Get these dates in your diary for the coming months… 22-23RD JUNE ULTIMATE FORD Market Harborough Showground www.ultimateford.co.uk 23RD JUNE FORD NATIONALS British Motor Museum, Gaydon www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/ events/ford-nationals 29TH JUNE RS COMBE Castle Combe circuit www.rscombe.co.uk 5TH JULY MUSTANG OWNERS CLUB OF GB, RUN YOUR MUSTANG DAY Santa Pod www.mocgb.net/index.php/santa-pod 7TH JULY FORD SHOW Santa Pod www.fordshow.co.uk 14TH JULY TRAX DONINGTON Donington Park circuit www.traxshows.co.uk 14TH JULY OVAL OWNERS FAMILY FUN DAY Stoke City Football Ground www.facebook.com/ events/521853428225494 26-28TH JULY SILVERSTONE CLASSIC Silverstone circuit www.silverstoneclassic.com 4TH AUGUST FORD FAIR Silverstone circuit www.fordfair.co.uk 11TH AUGUST LONDON CARTEL SHOW South of England Showground www.londoncartel.org 18TH AUGUST BLUEPRINT FORD DAY Blueprint, Nottingham www.facebook.com/ events/555437844902595 25TH AUGUST RSOC NATIONAL DAY Donington Park www.rsownersclub.co.uk/ rsoc-national-day 1ST SEPTEMBER FRANKIES CLASSIC CAR…

WHAT'S NEW DRIVEN COLLINS PERFORMANCE MK7 FIESTA 1.0 CP3 This month we get behind the wheel of Collins Performance’s very impressive little CP3 Fiesta 1.0-litre… Words JAMIE Photos JAMIE & IAN ALLEN I love these little 1.0 Fiestas. The Mk7 Fiesta is a cracking car in all flavours, and while it’s the range-topping ST that tends to steal all the limelight (understandably, given the phenomenal power and performance that can be coaxed from its 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine and the fantastic chassis straight from Ford), perhaps the most impressive model in the entire range is the humble 1.0-litre EcoBoost. Once seen as the laughing stock of the car world, small capacity engines are now all the rage – helped largely by the advent of modern technology such as direct injection, and…

MOTORBASE FOCUS BTCC TOUGH WEEKEND The Motorbase crew endured a tough weekend at Thruxton, but fought their way back into the points thanks to a lot of grit and determination Every year the BTCC throws you a curve-ball meeting, when nothing seems to go for you – with such a fiercely competitive grid no one car/team/driver is guaranteed a place at the sharp end of the results standings, and it’s how you deal with things when they’re not going your way that will ultimately win the Championship. Sadly, Thruxton was one of those weekends to forget for us. It all started badly when, during qualifying, Tom Chilton was run off the road and into a barrier – meaning we had to rebuild the #3 Focus overnight to get to ready…

MOTORSPORT MEMORIES REFOCUSSED AMBITION Hard as it might be to believe, the original Focus WRC celebrates its 20th birthday this year, so we thought it high time we look back at one of the most significant competition cars in Blue Oval history… Words JAMIE ARKLE Competitive as it doubtless was, the Escort WRC was never intended to be anything other than a stopgap for Ford, a means of ‘holding the line’ while its replacement could be fully developed. That car was of course the Focus, the most important rally car yet built by Ford and also something of a quantum leap forward in terms of WRC car design. Launched to much fanfare and a media blitz at the dawn of the 1999 season, the Focus WRC was intended to do…

#PRINTMYFORD See your very own fast Ford in full printed glory! Ever wanted to see your car appear in all its glory in the printed pages of a Ford tuning magazine? Well, if so, all you need to do is ask! Simply email us, or post a picture of your car on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages and add the hashtag ‘#printmyford’, and each month we’ll choose our favourites and print them in this aptly named feature! Alternatively, drop us an email with a couple of pics, a full spec list of any mods and upgrades, and a few details about your time with the car to fastford.ed@kelsey.co.uk with the subject heading ‘print my ford’ and we’ll pick our favourites for a slightly more detailed review each month too!…

ESCORT RS TURBO I AM LEGEND When lifelong Ford fan Jon Cassidy bought this RS Turbo recently, he wasn’t just getting a retro Escort: he was buying a chapter of hot hatch history… Words DAN BEVIS Photos ADE BRANNAN Ah, nostalgia. It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? An illogical but beguiling state of mind that leads us to hanker for an age when there was no wi-fi, Instagram, live-pausing, same-day delivery or NFC swipecards. Things were simultaneously worse and better; simpler but perhaps more rewarding… it’s a dichotomy, a conflict that’s probably not worth worrying about too much. Would you give up the ease of today for the freedom of yesterday? There are so many debates tied up within that question it makes your brain itch. It is,…

NEWS IN BRIEF DIRENZA ENTER FOCUS CUP The Focus Cup represents a very accessible form of motorsport: a popular model of car that’s well served by the aftermarket, in a race series that centres around affordability and parity for both fresh-faced newcomers and seasoned professionals. And for the 2019 season, our friends at Direnza will be entering a racer sporting their natty new livery. Like all cars in the series, their race car is based on a three-door Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S – perhaps not the obvious choice, but this makes it a better showcase of their skills in tuning, race prep and, of course, the talent of the driver. The car’s performance figures are impressive, up from the stock 134bhp to a much-more-like-it 175bhp (with torque rising from…

COMING UP SOON… FORD FAIR 2019 This is the big one. If you only do one show in 2019, make sure it’s Ford Fair. Simply put, it's the biggest Blue Oval event in Europe. As such, it attracts Ford fans from all over the world, with literally thousands of cars on show from hundreds of clubs and groups. All the biggest names in the Ford tuning scene are there too forming a huge retail village, while the Ford-only track action continues throughout the day. With so many cars on display, live demos, Show & Shine competitions, and a whole host of other features (including some new for 2019!), Ford Fair will once again be the biggest and best event of the summer – and we’ll be right at the heart…

MK2 FOCUS RS DAREDEVIL Ross Parkin just can’t leave cars alone – he’s always looking for new ways to make them faster and cooler. And with a massive power upgrade from Devil Developments, he’s firmly ticked both of those boxes here… Words DAN BEVIS Photos DARREN MALLINSON There are many reasons for modifying a car: perhaps you want to have a show-winning finish to scoop trophies that you can proudly display on your mantelpiece, maybe you want to shove in more power mods than anyone else so that you can leave similar cars standing at Santa Pod, or obsessively tweak the chassis to give you the best lap times at Brands Hatch. It can be a combination of all of these and more, or indeed entirely different motivations, but there’s…

SIERRA RS500 NON-CONFORMIST Sticking two-fingers up at the collectors and investors, Pete Wooltorton’s doing what he and his RS500 do best – making lots of noise and causing lots of havoc…! Words JAMIE Photos MATT WOODS Purists get the tissues ready, because by the end of this story you’ll be sobbing your little heart out shedding a tear for ‘that poor Sierra’ you see before you. Why? Because despite its stunning appearance, this RS500 Cosworth is no garage queen. It doesn’t live in a dehumidified temperature-controlled Carcoon. Nor does it only come out on high-days and holidays, trailered to an event only to be pampered some more before being wrapped up in cotton wool and transported home again until the same time next year. Nope, this RS500, lives life in…

MUSTANG SUPER SNAKE PURE VENOM Built by Surrey-based Bill Shepherd Mustang, this 850bhp Shelby ‘Super Snake’ is undoubtedly the most brutal incarnation of the modern-day Mustang that you can currently get your mitts on. But be warned: it bites… Words SAM PRESTON Photos JASON DODD It’s fair to say the most recent, sixth-generation Ford Mustang has successfully put this rather iconic, long-standing badge back on the automotive map with a bang over the last four years or so. Acting as that tantalising ‘wildcard’ for those looking for their next sensible European sports coupé, the fact you can still pick up a 5.0-litre V8 muscle car – complete with a good ol’ manual gearbox – in this day and age makes it unsurprising to hear that it’s been a bit of…

FAST FLEET Check out what’s been going on with our projects this month… JAMIE FOCUS RS Looking to make the RS a tad more user-friendly on B-roads and for daily duties, Jamie's been looking a lowering spring options that might actually increase the ride height a little... MOTORBASE FOCUS BTCC CARS It was a weekend to forget for the Motorbase Focuses at Thruxton. Read the full report on page 78. MARK ESCORT COSWORTH A starter motor repair, and fresh oil and filters and the EsCos is fighting fit ready for some track action once more. DAN SIERRA COSSIE It's booked in for paint! Hopefully Dan will have a more detailed update for us in the next issue. PAUL RS500 RACE CAR The race car build continues with Paul finishing off…

WHERE JW RACING, LUTON WHEN MAY 2018 JW RACING OPEN DAY To celebrate moving into new premises, and to showcase their talents and services to like-minded enthusiasts, JW Racing opened their doors and invited Ford fans to pop along to see what they’re all about… Words and photos JON HILL What do you get when you merge one successful company with another – a killer open day. To the feeble-minded – ok, me – the talk of Amber Performance is one thing. And then it gets confusing because the words JW Racing are brandished about in the same sentence. Those of you who have been reading the mag for a number of years will remember seeing Amber and their products 25 years ago, back in the days when Cossies and…

WHAT'S NEW NEW STUFF The latest gear on the Blue Oval scene HSD DUALTECH COILOVERS From £524 The range of prices for coilovers is huge, and you essentially get what you pay for: you may not need five-grand’s worth of remote-reservoir race shocks for your family daily driver; on the other hand, a set of £200 eBay coilovers aren’t exactly going to be the last word in comfort or precision. What most people require is the best-in-class of the entry-level spec, and that’s just what you get with HSD’s DualTech coilovers. They have a twin-tube design and low-gas pressure tech, as well as high-end Japanese spherical bearings and 14-way damping adjustment. And the good news for Mk7 Fiesta owners is that they’ve got 20% off until the end of July…

CARROLL SHELBY It’s unlikely the origins of the Shelby badge need much introduction to you, but it’s always worth refreshing our memories when it comes to what is undoubtedly a fascinating back-story. Carroll Shelby, born 1923, broke into the motorsport world by piloting countless small British saloon cars in the ‘40s and ‘50s, even turning his hand to Formula 1 before the end of the latter decade. With his driving career coming to an abrupt and untimely end shortly after due to health reasons, Shelby continued to immerse himself in the world he loved by turning his hand to the manufacturing of fast road and race cars instead. One of his first big claims to fame was the AC Cobra – a converted AC Ace with a shoehorned Ford V8…

FIESTA ST KEEPING EXCLUSIVE This limited-edition Fiesta ST is an all-rounder like no other, thanks to wide-arch looks for the show scene and 330bhp for use on the track… Words SIMON HOLMES Photos MATT RICHARDSON People tend to modify their cars for different reasons. For some, it’s simply a matter of improving a car’s looks, performance or ability, making it more attractive and fun to drive. But that’s not enough for others, as creating something that’s different from anything else is the harder challenge to accomplish. If that’s the end goal then it certainly helps to start with a more exclusive product, such as a limited run Fiesta ST, for instance. It’s safe to say the special edition ST200 is a rare breed, with less than 1,000 of…

CLUB MEET WHERE TRUST FORD, EPSOM WHEN APRIL 2019 ROLLING OVAL AT TRUST FORD EPSOM When Rolling Oval members joined forces with Trust Ford to hold a charity meet, we just knew it would be a day not to be missed… Words & Photos MATT RICHARDSON If Carlsberg did car dealers, this would be it. For one morning Trust Ford in Epsom was transformed from showroom to show hall, with some of the South East’s finest modified Fords on show. This was because Dave Briggs from Rolling Oval South England and James Rowe from the Mk1 RS Owners Club – along with a more than a few helpful and enthusiastic members from the clubs – secured the Trust Ford site as the host venue for a charity meet – with…

FASTER FORDS NO.14 MONDEO 4X4 WITH V6 POWER FORDS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN… While the Mondeo Mkl was offered with a 4x4 transmission, Ford never coupled that to the mighty V6 engine from the sportiest models. Had they done so, could Ford have created a genuine Quattro-beater, or even a Mondeo RS...? Words GRAHAM ROBSON When the Sierra was retired in 1992, it was replaced by the original Mondeo; an all-can-do medium-sized family car which dealers all around the globe expected to sell in huge quantities. They were right, of course – one reason being that the car was eventually sold in a bewildering number of derivatives. For driving enthusiasts, the good news was that the Mondeo was all-new – from stem to stern – as apart from the diesel…