Ford Focus With Mustang GT Powertrain a Real Tempting Buy
Not letting the LS-swap community have all the fun, this this crazy 5.0-powered hatch is the epitome of the word ‘sleeper.’
For decades, the Mustang has been Ford’s number one performance car. But there have been some impressive also-rans. Of course, there’s the seemingly once-in-a-decade return of the Ford GT. And lately, the Ford Focus RS has also been impressive. For about the price of a Mustang GT Premium, buyers can get a 350 horse, all-wheel drive hot hatch that was bred in Europe and is ready for the track.
Of course, for many Mustang fans, the response is “who cares?” The current RS is the first version sold in the U.S., and while it’s all-wheel drive, the first two generations were only front-wheel. Holy torque-steer, Batman.
But what if Ford made a hot Focus that’s a little more in line with a V8-powered Mustang? Well, they haven’t and they probably won’t. But if they did, it would probably look like this 2002 Focus that’s for sale on Colombus, Ohio Craigslist.
Ford Focus with 225 Horsepower
Now, before you start running for the hills, this looks like a pretty impressive build. It’s a black three-door hatch, and aside from a dark window tint and SVT alloys, it looks pretty stock. The text is pretty standard Craigslist prose (lots of info, not a lot of capitalization or punctuation), but overall it sounds promising. Motivation now comes from a ’91 Mustang GT motor and drivetrain, which means that a fuel-injected five-point-oh is sending power to the rear wheels now. While no numbers are mentioned, a stock ’91 GT’s 225 horsepower is a marked improvement over a Focus ZX3’s 130 ponies. To make sure nothing blows up, the Focus’ stock pumpkin has been replaced by an 8.8-inch rear end. A T5 manual transmission handles shifting duty.
Adding to the positives, the seller says that the car is sitting on a Kugel Performance suspension, has adjustable shocks and struts, and has new brakes. A big fuel cell out back looks impressive too. But nothing is perfect, and there do seem to be some potential problems. For one, despite claiming that it’s “like new,” the seller admits that it needs a fresh coat of paint. After all the work that’s seemingly gone into this car, he’d also “sale as rolling chassis.” And perhaps most worrisome, the car has only been driven 54 miles since completion. Solid or not, that means this Focus will likely need some dialing in before it’s ready for the track.
So what does a Focus with the heart and soul of a Fox Body GT run? About $8,500, though the seller is open to trades too. We love this idea for a custom build. And it does look like it was done to a high standard. But would you be willing to take the risk? We’re hoping this Focus finds a new owner that can help it reach its full potential.
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