Coyote Swap Ford Focus RS Will Melt Your Mind
Factory widebody Focus RS has a Whipple supercharged Coyote swap with over 700 tire-burning horsepower to the rear wheels.
The things that casually appear on Facebook Marketplace never cease to amaze. If you’re a car enthusiast, you know how treacherous it can be to do a little window shopping. It’s really easy to slip and slide and wind up with another car, new car parts, or a myriad of other things. One thing you might not expect to see as you scroll merrily along the Zuckerberg classifieds highway, though, is a Ford Focus with a supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote swap. Believe it or not, though, that’s exactly what we found!
If the prospect of buying a Coyote-powered Focus hatchback is enticing to you, there is some bad news. The Facebook Marketplace listing for this mighty little beast now displays the word “sold” in the title. Truly a bummer for anyone who may have been ready to drop the $53,500 asking price. Frankly, for what you’re getting, that price point really doesn’t seem like that bad of a deal. Let’s dig into this killer little hot hatch and see what makes it tick.
Rear-Wheel Drive, Short Wheelbase, and Over 700 Horsepower
The seller states that this is a factory-widebody Ford Focus RS. For those unaware, the Focus RS has indeed existed for quite some time. This particular example comes from the MK2 (pronounced “mark two.” Do not say “em kay two,” you heathen) generation, and believe it or not, the original powerplant under that hood was a Volvo five-cylinder. Yes, we know it’s weird. This particular example is a 2001 model year. So, for those thinking: “Hey, isn’t that too new to legally import?” we have no comment.
In place of the five-cylinder Volvo unit now sits a Supercharged Coyote swap mated to a five-speed manual T45 transmission. The seller states that this engine setup makes 725 horsepower. That’s more than enough power to have a good time. Especially considering it’s rear-wheel drive. It’s a bit of a short wheelbase, but it would be super rad to see someone taking this thing to drift events.
Worth the $53,000 Asking Price?
Though the exterior still retains the MK2 focus lines, the chassis itself is effectively entirely custom-built to support its ferocious powertrain. It has Cobra four-wheel disc brakes, an Eaton Tru-Trac limited slip differential, a custom Dakota Dashboard, and a full roll cage with bucket seats. The seller states that this car was built for SEMA in the early 2000s. However, something about that seems a little off, considering the first-gen Coyote wasn’t available until 2011. There is, of course, a chance that it had a 4.6 or 5.4 modular V8 initially and was later swapped to a Coyote.
While $53,500 is a tough pill to swallow, considering that’s almost enough money to buy a manual 2024 Mustang Darkhorse, it’s certainly a unique car. If you have this kind of cash for a fun car lying around and you want something different, a car like this beast is right up your alley. Unfortunately, as we stated above, you missed your opportunity own this particular example. Still, it’s awesome to get a chance to check it out!
Photos: Randy Kent/Facebook