It Was Clear from the Beginning That the Big Wheel Arches Are Not Just There

It was clear from the beginning that the big wheel arches are not just there to create stylish surroundings for the massive 18 inch wheels: the 225 millimetre wide tyres simply need more generous covering JACKET AND TIE AT 150 MPH The simple elegance of the new Focus ST clearly follows the design brief and Ford TeamRS Chief Designer Chris Clements’s intention to create distinctive and dynamic lines. “It was all about finding the golden line between sporty presence and discreet presentation. The Focus ST emanates performance as well as practical usability.” Canadian-American exterior designer David Hilton worked alongside his British colleague to sharpen the standard Focus lines for the ST David Hilton is a passionate version. He immediately recognised the good motorcyclist and skier – when raw material he had been given. “The new he’s not involved in designing Focus has excellent proportions; so giving it sporty, sleek automobiles more sporting appeal was a sure winner.” The more he focused upon this new challenge, the more he knew that getting the assignment to create the performance version was a real stroke of luck for him. “I had great freedom in creating the Focus RS three years ago, so I knew the possibilities for giving the new Focus ST a sharper profile, too,” said David with satis- faction after finishing the job. A perfect working environment accelerated the successes. It didn’t take long for David, a former private Ducati racing rider, and the enthusiastic Ford TeamRS engineers to be on the same wavelength. Hilton was “hands on” from the start – time was a factor, but it was also a matter of continuity. For the designer this means accompanying his ideas from their creation to the production line. For designing large body sections with strong three dimensional forms like spoilers, for example, the first and best material choice remains, due to its texture, designer clay. For small details such as air-intake mounting aprons, David is convinced that modern CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacture) methods can’t be beaten, even for relatively small production runs. And the distinguishing design characteristics of the Focus ST don’t just look great, they also serve a function. As the turbo intake and the water cooler need a lot of fresh air, the air- intakes on the front spoiler had to enlarged. Not enough air came through an initial version, and it took a lighter radiator grille design with less air resistance to get the thermal issues under control. The new Focus has excellent proportions, so giving it more sporting appeal was a sure winner. The Focus ST Chris Clements is convinced the ST’s front end emanates performance and practical usability design conveys a very special message. “With the large trapezoidal cooling air intake, Ford’s design is building a bridge into the future.“ It’s also clear, of course, that the big wheelarches are not just there to create stylish surroundings for the massive 18 inch wheels: the 225 millimetre wide tyres simply need more generous Right at the beginning, when the first covering. During intensive road testing, it also blank is rolling into the milling machine, became apparent that the oversized door sills it could appear to outsiders that cars are made by putting bricks one on top of the other provide more than just aerodynamic advantages. These plastic elements protect the chassis and body itself from the mineral matter catapulted off the tyres. David Hilton couldn’t fulfil all of his design aspirations when it came to the roof spoiler. In an ideal environment, he would have preferred a more competition-inspired, perhaps even self- adjusting model. Yet, it was clear that such a spoiler would not have passed the strict road car homologation requirements. Nevertheless, the fixed-position solution is also aerodyna- mically effective, reducing air resistance and lift on the rear axle. David enjoys the visual effect, too, “The fastback stretches the stern of the new Focus, and the larger ST rear spoiler provides a nice contrast. The car looks like it’s taking off.” The designers also sought to achieve presence in the lower body sections. They wanted a rear end with imposing exhaust pipes, and the engine technicians wanted a large exhaust tail- The distinguishing design characteristics of the Focus ST don’t just look great, they also serve pipe so their impressive job would be signed a function. As the turbo intake and the water off with a striking acoustic signature. The cooler need a lot of fresh air the air intakes on company’s spare parts warehouse soon came up the front spoiler had to be enlarged with a voluminous silencer which was mounted laterally with two exhaust pipes coming out of its sides. This booming addition to the car couldn’t be mounted on the volume production Focus bodyshell because the spare tyre housing was in the way, so the lower section of the The fathers of the idea: (l to r) Matthias Tone, Dave Hilton and Gunnar Herrmann quickly luggage space on the ST is removed and the developed the concept of the Focus ST to full remaining hole covered. Instead of a spare tyre, maturity and proudly presented it to the public at the 2005 IAA in Frankfurt The dynamic line was present right through to the rear end from the earliest sketches. An adjustable rear spoiler solution was considered and later rejected, but the twin exhaust pipes coming out of either end of the large silencer remained The supplementary headlamp units have metallic frames that make an elegant contrast, especially to darker bodywork colours – like pinstripes on a fine fabric the ST’s standard equipment includes a punc- ture repair kit from Continental, called Tyrefit. Such sporty details form a challenge for the production plant. With the vast throughput of standard Focus models at Saarlouis, it took time The rear spoiler serves two functions: to convince the plant management that ST firstly, it reduces the aerodynamic lift on the rear end and secondly it could be included easily. The job of bringing helps keep the rear windscreen free Ford TeamRS and the plant together fell to of spray in rainy weather Susan Love, who succeeded thanks to a lot of diplomatic charm. When it came to organising the production of the sporty Focus ST on the same assembly line as the volume model, planners borrowed a page from the book of motorsport. At the The rear fog-light inserts are set into the rear apron as an optical contrast point in the production process when lasers to the front fog-lights. Their design should cut the holes for mudguard extension was realised with modern CAD-CAM clips and door sills or when a flat cover has to (Computer Aided Design – Computer Aided Manufacture) processes. be added in place of spare tyre storage, the ST chassis leaves the assembly line as if it were exiting the racetrack and going in for a pit stop. When the extra work is completed on an adjacent line, it swings back into position and continues its journey towards completion. Since During intensive road testing, it also its designers were given ‘carte blanche’ to set became apparent that the oversized this car apart from the mainstream to under- door sills provide more than just score its dynamics and quality, the further aerodynamic advantages. These plastic elements protect the chassis along the line it gets, the more the ST differs and body itself from the mineral from the large-series production Focus. Hilton matter catapulted off the tyres finds the metallic frames of the front and rear light units in the lower bumpers are “a nod from the premium class”, but he would have added even some more sporty spice to the car if it weren´t for safety regulations. The interior design is also exclusive to the new Focus. The black roof liner and black-clad roof pillars echo the functionality of 1970s sports cars such as the Capri RS. The sport seats resist lateral forces with pronounced and colourful contours, and side supports are upholstered in non-slip fabric. The seat surface and back, which take a beating, are upholstered in leather, just like the functional steering wheel. Free from fussy radio and computer controls, the sleek steering wheel’s design was kept simple. It was designed for one job which is the most enjoyable thing that you can do in the Focus ST – experience razor sharp steering from curve to curve. The instruments in front of the driver are straightforward: they simply show their scales in classic black. When the lights are on, the numbers are backlit. A neat touch is the supplemental instrument binnacle in the centre of the dashboard, which provides black and white information about oil temperature, turbo pressure and oil pressure. We’ll leave the last word to David Hilton and Chris Clements in chorus: “The Focus ST not only looks totally different than its more genteel cousins, it also shows off what it’s got. We were determined to make the most consistently sporting ST we’ve ever built.” The turbo pressure gauge is placed in the middle of the instrument panel and seldom shows more that 0.65 bar of charge-pressure. The engine of the Focus ST makes do with very mild turbo pressure – after all, it was optimised for optimal driveability During the spot-welding on the chassis, the Ford Focus ST still doesn’t differ much from its siblings. The distinctive differences are created using laser welding techniques, for example, the flat luggage-space floor to accommodate the gigantic silencer under the rear end FROM THE FIRST IDEA TO THE END OF THE LINE Matthias Sets the Tone.

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