The Mk1 Focus was a bit of a turning point for Ford; before its arrival in 1998, Blue Oval hatchbacks were something of a handful when the road got twisty. Yes, they were fast. And yes, they could be exciting. But when the control blade-equipped Focus arrived, it showed Ford fans what they had been missing. Previous fast Fords – even including the mighty Cosworth range – had always been a bit antiquated when it came to chassis design and suspension setup. And the Mk1 Focus put that right. It was the genesis of the playful handling traits that have characterised fast Fords since – the Fiesta STs,Focus ST, and Focus RS generations all built on the success of the Mk1 Focus platform.
The only thing was the original versions available at launch weren’t what you’d call ‘fast’. For that, we had to wait until 2002, when, typically, two fast Focus models arrived in quick succession. The ST170 was the first, developed by Ford’s SVE (Special Vehicle Engineering) Team it epitomised what a fast, fun, and practical hot hatch should be. The 2.0-litre Zetec engine was tuned to give 171bhp and mated to a close-ratio six-speed gearbox, and the chassis was further tweaked to deliver impressive performance both on the street and the circuit.
The ST170’s problem didn’t come from Japanese rivals like the Civic Type R, but
