If you have a thousand Benjamins burning a hole in your pocket, may we recommend heading to your local Ford dealership? Ford has unveiled the track-prepped sibling to its Focus ST sports compact, the ST-R, with a price tag just under a hundred grand.
The stripped-down commuter car comes kitted out with FIA regulation roll cage, uprated brakes and suspension components, and a more powerful 2.0 liter, four cylinder Ecoboost engine. The car itself is only the start of Ford's plans with the ST-R, which should be the beginning of a global motorsports and trackday campaign. Ford will first send out the ST-R to North American racing teams for competition in Grand-Am ST, World Challenge TC and the Canadian Touring Car Series. For once, Ford is starting its enthusiast fare in North America, and then moving across the Atlantic, taking the ST-R to racetracks across Europe, not least of which being the ever-growing 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Rather than restricting this high-speed PR machine to top-flight racing events, Ford will sell the Focus ST-R to "seasoned hardcore professional drivers, amateur racers and track day enthusiasts" on order from Ford dealerships. If Ford's international motorsports strategy means that the dealer down the street can sell me a full-on track racer, then let me give three cheers for globalization!