While a majority of the focus on Ford’s hot-hatch lineup for this year’s SEMA Show seems to be aimed toward the rambunctious, all-wheel-drive Focus RS, there is at least one group out there that hasn’t forgotten Ford’s smaller-displacement, front-wheel-drive Focus ST: Blood Type Racing. The performance parts retailer and tuning shop is putting together a custom 2017 Ford Focus ST for the annual show, featuring wild styling and a comprehensive list of chassis and powertrain upgrades, plus support equipment for a remote-controlled drone.
To squeeze more thrust out of Ford’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, Blood Type Racing fitted their Focus ST with a Full-Race turbo kit, featuring a BorgWarner EFR-Series 7163 turbocharger. The intake charge is cooled by a Mishimoto intercooler, and Mishimoto also provided the radiator, coolant expansion tank, and Hoonigan oil cap. The exhaust and short-throw shifter were sourced from Ford Performance, and a custom ECU tune was performed in-house using Cobb Tuning’s ubiquitous Accessport tuner.
The chassis has been seen to with an Airlift Performance air suspension system, big Wilwood brakes, and a Pierce Motorsports underbody brace to lend the hot hatch a bit of extra sturdiness. Nineteen-inch B-Forged Performance wheels sit at all four corners, wrapped in Toyo T1 Sport tires.
Sweeping changes were delivered to the exterior, which boasts a Rally Innovations splitter and rear wing, SoCal Garage Works wide body fender flares, a Thule roof rack, and Diode Dynamics head lights. Eye-catching BASF Midnight Purple III paint makes this 2017 Ford Focus ST impossible to miss, and most novel of all, a custom helipad from AutoArt Glenview provides a place to land for a remote-controlled quadricopter.
Warning: Don’t drone and drive.
The interior has been dressed up a bit, too, with all-weather floor mats and illuminated door sill plates from the Ford Accessories catalog. Sabelt carbon-fiber racing seats with Sabelt 4-point racing harnesses restrain both driver and passenger, and a SoCal Garage Works carbon-fiber steering wheel projects from the dash. An Autopower roll bar has been fitted, and a custom Blood Type Racing rear storage compartment provides a stowing place for a drone and camera when not in-use.
Blood Type Racing’s stylish Ford Focus ST will go on display at the Ford booth at the 2017 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show at the end of the month, alongside custom Focus RS builds from the likes of VMP Performance, Universal Technical Institute, and Rally Innovations. Stay tuned for more Ford SEMA news.
Comment
Strong man – An Autopower roll bar has been fitted, and a custom Blood Type Racing rear storage compartment provides a stowing place for a drone and camera when not in-use.