When the Ford Focus RS came to the United States, it captured our hearts not only because of its awesome hot-hatchiness, but also because it entertained the little drift demon that lives inside all of us with its Drift Mode.
But the Mode wasn’t enough, oh, no. Ford is now giving us a fun little piece of metal to yank on called the Drift Stick, which Ford claims is the world’s first electronically-controlled performance handbrake.
If you have $999 and a Focus RS, you can bring it to Ford, where it will install an aluminum lever between the driver’s seat and the shifter. The Drift Stick has a USB cable that plugs into the car’s onboard diagnostics port that, when pulled, will work with the ABS system to lock up the rear wheels without the need to clutch in and potentially stalling the engine.
As mentioned above, this is an electronically-controlled system, not a hydraulic one like you’d find in a real rally car. You don’t need to pull as hard on one of these as you would on a hydraulic brake, however, and installing it is way easier than putting in a hydraulic kit, which usually involves drills.
Ford also reminds us that the Drift Stick is intended for track use only, but I’m quite certain we’ll get our fair share of videos of people crashing their cars on public roads in attempts to show off.
Remember: just because you have Drift Mode and now the Drift Stick, it doesn’t automatically mean you are a Drift God.