[waterpolo]

Does anyone definatively know or have good info if the new model focus, yet to be released, will have an 'st' or other 'hot' version.

I am at the satge of potentially getting a newer ST (mine is a 57) or hanging around for the new one to come out.

cheers

 

[smjohns]

Nothing has been confirmed officially but the new Focus will almost definitely have an ST model as it is a fairly staple part of the range. One thing that is more certain is that the current 2.5 Volvo engine will not feature in the new Focus range. Even rumours of the next RS (which Ford said it would not be building......sound familiar?) will have a blown 2 litre engine so I can imagine the ST will follow a similar path, albeit with reduced power output.

Most interesting news I read was that the next Focus chassis will be a shortened Mondeo chassis rather than it's own purpose built one. This sort of makes sense in view of the larger C-Max Grand demands but considering so many cars (Ford, Mazda & Volvo) use the current C-Segment chassis, it would be a surprise to see the Focus move up to a shortened D-Segment chassis instead of a brand new C-Segment version. Having said that, as the next Focus will be a world wide car it might need the extra room for the various derivatives.

 

[troy45]

The Mondeo is built on the EUCD platform which is already shared by something like 13 vehicles if I remember correctly, such as S-Max, Galaxy, Volvo XC70, S70, Freelander 2 etc and I'd say this is more commonly used than the C-car platform used on the Focus.

Seeing how the Focus seems to be growing and growing the cross-over to using the Mondeo platform could have benefits from sharing many more 'heavy duty' parts of chassis and powertrain etc. In theory you could find new Focus sharing a vast majority of chassis, and powertrain parts plus the crossover of the Mondeo's electrical architecture plus internals of the instrument panel and so on. The unique parts would then be mainly exterior body panels and interior trim items. With the Focus platform being some 6 years old already it's a bit long in the tooth to be carried over to the next generation version. Economies of scale for parts and shared development costs is the way forward to maintain cost margins a far as Ford are concerned.

 

[smjohns]

QUOTE(troy45 @ 6 Jan 2010, 06:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>With the Focus platform being some 6 years old already it's a bit long in the tooth to be carried over to the next generation version.

Hehe, that did not stop VW

and still the Focus is best in class....even over the brand new Astra.

I guess a move to a shortened Mondeo platform does make sense if we want out trusty Ford to weather the current economic climate. Out of interest, what is the new C-Max going to sit on as the Focus will almost definitely get the same.

I had a quick search and found this on the US Ford website:

QUOTE•All-new Ford C-MAX range debuts at 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, with 5-seat and 7-seat models to launch in Europe in 2010; 7-seat model to launch in North America in late 2011
•New global C-car platform to underpin up to 10 models and account for more than 2 million cars annually by 2012, manufactured in Europe, Asia and North America
•Next-generation Ford Focus based on all-new C-car platform to debut at the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January 2010

 

[waterpolo]

QUOTE(smjohns @ 6 Jan 2010, 01:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Nothing has been confirmed officially but the new Focus will almost definitely have an ST model as it is a fairly staple part of the range. One thing that is more certain is that the current 2.5 Volvo engine will not feature in the new Focus range. Even rumours of the next RS (which Ford said it would not be building......sound familiar?) will have a blown 2 litre engine so I can imagine the ST will follow a similar path, albeit with reduced power output.

Cheers for reply - I only hope it's somewhere neare the performance of the current ST which I love. I suppose if its a bit off mountune might be helping me!