Although the Ford Focus is no longer available in North America, for most of its 20+ year existence, it has graced American roads with its presence. Spicier variants of the compact car, like the Focus ST and Focus RS, earned their respect among enthusiasts too, but those models were preceded by the 2002 Ford Focus SVT, at least in North America, where it entered quite a competitive performance compact segment upon its arrival.
An impressively clean example recently surfaced on automotive auction site Cars & Bids. Given its relatively short production run, it is no doubt a rare survivor in 2021, especially since previous owners opted to leave it in its stock configuration.
The 2002 Ford Focus SVT built on the capable driving dynamics of its non performance-oriented counterpart by boasting a Ford 2.0L Zetec I-4 tuned by Cosworth, which previously worked with Ford on a number of projects, including the 1996-1999 Ford Taurus SHO. That collaboration resulted in the Zetec engine making 170 horsepower and 145 pound-feet or torque – a 40 horsepower bump over the powerplant Ford installed in the regular Focus. The high-performance Focus also boasted a Getrag six-speed manual transmission that was also featured in the Mini Cooper S of that era, a vehicle that was well-known for its performance chops.
In addition to its impressive powertrain, the 2002 Ford Focus SVT was notable for several other reasons. It was specifically designed and sold for the North American market, being available in both Canada and the United States. Ford’s SVT performance division worked on the suspension to improve handling, proving that they could successfully create a dynamic vehicle not typically associated with SVT, which had previously been known for big, V8 powered products like the Ford Mustang SVT Cobra and Ford F-150 SVT Lighting.
This particular 2002 Ford Focus SVT is noteworthy simply because it’s still in good condition. Ford made 4,788 units of the Focus SVT for the 2002 model year, and the entire production run didn’t last beyond 2004, so these are pretty rare vehicles, especially unmodified examples. With just about 110k on the odometer, it hasn’t been driven too much in its nearly two decades on the road.
That said, it isn’t exactly in showroom condition. The performance-oriented Focus was involved in a multi-car accident in 2015 and it has resided in the NY Tri-State region (NY, CT, and NJ) its entire life, so there is some rust on the frame and exhaust.
Those aren’t deal breakers by any means, especially since the car is already quite the collectible. But given this particular model’s history, it’s sure to remain an attainable purchase for someone looking for a very unique vehicle from Ford’s recent past.
The model sold on January 19th, 2021 for $4,100, which we think is quite reasonable for this car.
We’ll have more cool cars like this to share soon, so subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Focus news, Focus SVT news, and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
Assembled in Mexico btw…My 2004 ZTS had more torque.
What the ZTS didn’t have was the SVT tune or suspension that this model has
My neighbor had an SVT Contour for while which was kind of a cool car. I currently own a 2016 Focus ST which tracing lineage, must be the spawn of this early model. I did however own a 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 which Car & Driver rated as a three way tie in a recent article sighting the Ten Quickest Front Drivers ever. This was back when Ford owned a fair portion of Mazda. Too bad there wasn’t a bit more of the Mazda inculcated into the Focus’ of that time.
I had a 2002 ford focus four door, it had some rust on the rocker panels and doors, I had so much done to it but it was a good little car, in 2019 I traded it in on another focus, I think the dealership ripped me off even in the condition it was in, it wasn’t terrible, it had 69,765 miles when I let it go. I got a whole two hundred dollars for it, I bought a 2010 focus and I just love it, it rides nice and it’s roomy enough, it had bad rocker panels which I had fixed from a friend who owns a body shop, also there was some spots on the rear fenders, it’s a beautiful metallic gray, it’s looks great now, I really enjoy it, my wife and me say we are lucky because it’s missing the letter C, we have the only FO US, Lol, I wish I could of bought it brand new when it came out, thanks for taking my comments
My brother has my old SVT focus. Stock with 120k miles, no rust and no accidents. Surely you could have found a better example Ford Authority.
I have a 2002 focus SVT, same as the one above, in mint condition with exactly 3227 miles on it. Got it from my grandfather who worked at ford for just over 30 years. He retired when I was born and bought the car with the money they gave him when he retired. It sat under a cover in his garage for nearly 20 years. Only driven once a month or so to keep the engine clean.
Beautiful vehicle!