December 31, 2001

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Preview:
2002 Ford SVT Focus
by Greg Wilson High performance hatchbacks are hot with today's young buyers, and until now, the segment has been dominated by imports. Ford wants to change all that with its new 170 horsepower SVT Focus, a limited production version of the two-door Focus ZX3 hatchback with a modified 170 horsepower 2.0 litre four cylinder engine, a 6-speed Getrag manual transmission, a modified suspension, and bigger brakes.

In its infancy, the youth-oriented 'street-racer' scene was a niche market confined to small import hatchbacks like the Acura Integra, Honda Civic, and Volkswagen Golf. Now that the popularity of these 'hot' hatchbacks has exploded into the mainstream of the youth market, domestic automakers are itching to get a piece of the pie previously owned by the imports. Ford will soon introduce the new SVT Focus, a high-performance version of the Focus ZX3 hatchback.

"The younger generation today is embracing small, four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive cars as 'their' performance cars in the same way the Baby Boomers embraced V8 muscle cars back in the '60s," said John Coletti, chief engineer at Ford SVT Engineering. "This is a market we have to be in."

In the U.S., Ford has promised to offer the SVT Focus for approximately U.S.$18,000 including freight which should give it a significant price advantage against its import rivals. Canadian prices haven't been announced but it's expected Ford of Canada will adopt a similar strategy.

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Ford's Special Vehicles Team is well qualified to produce a production-ready performance version of the Focus. They're responsible for some of Ford's best performance cars, including the SVT Mustang Cobra R, the F-150 SVT Lightning pickup, and the previous SVT Contour. The SVT Focus is based on the Focus ZX3 2-door hatchback (which was introduced in Europe in 1998 and in Canada in the 2000 model year). The exterior of the SVT Focus can be distinguished by its unique front and rear styling, black honeycomb front grilles and rear valance, special rocker panels, rear spoiler, and wide 17 inch tires and alloy wheels.

The real difference between this and other Focuses is under the sheet metal. While the Focus ZX3 has a standard 2.0 litre 16-valve DOHC Zetec inline four-cylinder engine that develops 130 horsepower at 5300 rpm and 135 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500 rpm, the same engine in the SVT Focus has 170 horsepower at 7000 rpm and 145 lb.-ft. of torque at 5500 rpm. The increase in horsepower was done without the use of turbocharging or supercharging. Modifications include a dual-stage intake manifold, variable cam timing on the intake camshaft, and an underbody-only catalyst system.

The variable cam timing on the intake side and a dual stage intake manifold produces solid low-end torque as well as power up high in the rev band. "Typical DOHC four-cylinder engines with four valves per cylinder are great for peak power but not so strong in the low-end torque department," said Coletti. "Our team has made some very interesting modifications that give this engine performance that's atypical of DOHC fours, particularly as far as torque is concerned. It's just a very potent, responsive engine and a very smooth powertrain."

Power is transferred to the front wheels through a dual-mass flywheel and a standard Getrag six-speed, close-ratio manual transmission. The SVT Focus joins the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R as the only cars in the Ford line equipped with six-speed gearboxes.

SVT engineers didn't have to work very hard to improve the suspension. From the time the Focus first appeared in Europe, it has received high praise for its outstanding driving dynamics. "The Focus ZX3 is a fantastic car, which made our job that much easier," said Andy Slankard, SVT Focus program manager. "There's no mystery about the reasons for its great driving dynamics; it has really well-engineered chassis and suspension systems. We didn't have to make any major changes - just some tuning to give us the extra control, agility and precision we wanted."

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SVT engineers selected springs that are stiffer by 10 percent on the front and 20 percent on the rear, compared with those on the Focus ZX3. There are solid anti-roll bars front and rear, and the front bar is one millimetre larger in diameter than the one on the Focus ZX3. The shock absorbers have been retuned for agile handling, with softened impact harshness and improved roll damping.

The SVT Focus has standard power four-wheel disc brakes with a four-channel, four-sensor anti-lock system - it is the only Focus model available with rear disc brakes and ABS as standard equipment. Slankard said the car's impressive braking capabilities are the result of increased swept area under the 17-inch wheels. The 300mm (11.8 inches) vented front rotors are 42mm (1.65 inches) larger in diameter than those on the ZX3, and have a correspondingly larger single-piston caliper. Solid rear rotors measure 280mm (11.0 inches) in diameter and also have single-piston calipers. The standard 17 inch alloy wheels are fitted with Continental 215/45R-17 ContiSport Contact tires that provide a high level of grip and directional stability.

The steering has been improved too: the boost curve on the power rack-and-pinion steering system has been retuned to give the driver heightened feel and precision control.

The interior of the SVT Focus has some features which distinguish it from the ZX3: the seats are trimmed in black leather with additional bolster padding for increased lateral support. The seat inserts are covered in a choice of red or blue cloth. The shift knob and handbrake lever are leather-wrapped and have leather boots, the steering wheel also is leather-wrapped, and the instrument panel features an electro-luminescent gauge cluster with titanium-coloured faces.

Ford plans to produce only 7,500 SVT Focus hatchbacks in model year 2002 for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. If it's priced right, Ford won't have any trouble selling all of them. More than that, the SVT Focus will heighten Ford's profile in the import dominated 'hot hatch' market just in time for it to compete with newcomers like the Toyota Matrix XRS and Honda Civic SiR.

The SVT Focus is built in Ford's Hermosillo, Mexico, assembly plant along with the Focus ZX3.

2002 Ford SVT Focus standard features

• Driver and passenger air bags; front side-impact air bags
• Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
• Front fog lamps
• SecuriLock passive anti-theft system
• Leather-wrapped, 4-spoke, tilt/telescoping steering wheel
• Aluminum gearshift knob with leather accent
• Metallic pedal covers
• Leather-wrapped parking brake lever
• Leather boots on shift and parking brake levers
• AM/FM stereo, single-disc CD player, remote audio controls on steering column
• Front bucket seats with rotary recliner adjustment and rotary lumbar adjustment; driver-only power up/down adjustment
• 60/40 split rear seat with fold-down back and flip-up cushions, three head restraints
• Dual remote control outside heated folding mirrors
• Power side windows, door locks, deck lid release
• Remote keyless illuminated entry
• Rear window defroster
• Air-conditioning (manual control)
• Speed control
• Floor mats

Available Options

• Winter Package: traction control system, heated seats, engine block heater
• Audiophile Sound System: 290-watt 6-disc in-dash AM/FM stereo, premium speakers and 8-inch subwoofer with amplifier
• Power sunroof

Colour & Trim

Exterior: Sonic Blue, Infra-Red, CD Silver, Pitch Black

Interior: Blue or red cloth seating surfaces with black leather trim

* Sonic Blue available with blue interior only * Infra-Red available with red interior only * CD Silver and Pitch Black available with red or blue interior

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Greg Wilson is a Vancouver-based automotive journalist and editor of CanadianDriver