Ford Focus ST & ST Estate arrive at Frankfurt

2012 Ford Focus ST arrives in Frankfurt

The 2012 Ford Focus ST has debuted tonight at the Frankfurt Motor Show and came with a surprise addition – a Focus ST Estate, the first time Ford has offered a performance car with a load-lugging ability.

Virtually unchanged from the endless images we’ve seen of the Concept ST both on the road and at Motor Shows, the 2012 ST gets a big trapezoidal grill, a big centre exhaust, skirts and out the back a spoiler and new bumper with integrated diffuser. And, as we’d expect, a Screaming Orange paint job.

Inside the 2012 ST gets the requisite Recaro chairs up front and a redesigned bench seat in the back. There’s special headlining so you’ll know you’re not in a run-of-the-mill Focus when you put the chairs back for a kip after hours of blatting, and a new set of pedals, new gearlever and new steering wheel.

The 2.0 litre Ecoboost lump delivers up 247 playful horses and 265lb/ft of torque to deliver decent grunt too. Ford has declined to give us any performance figures (we’re expecting something close to the old RS), but they will confirm economy improves by 20 per cent over the old 2.5 litre ST, doubtless helped by a long sixth gear.

The Focus ST is 1-mm lower than a regular Focus thanks to new springs and dampers and there are new anti-roll bars and uprated knuckles. The ST gets a variable rate rack and electronic torque-steer compensation which works with the electronic power steering to tame torque steer. The stability control on the 2012 ST gets three modes including one which switches all the nannies off. Or not, as experience with the regular Focus tells us.

In all respects, apart from the extra bit bolted on the back and revised dampers to take account of any big loads,, the 2012 Focus ST Estate is identical to the hatch. Ford say it’s a unique entrant in to this market sector, and one we’d expect to be a big success.

We’d take one. Just not in Screaming Orange.

(13 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK