THE ZX3 PAGE
UPDATED 12/31/2003
Happy New Year to all.
ZUM's mild to wild Euro ZX3
This page is dedicated to the MODIFIED Ford Focus ZX3/ZX5.
Send me pictures and specs. of yours and I will post them in the gallery.
US/Canadian Focus vs. European Focus
The difference between the US/Canadian and the European Focus is the front and rear bumpers.
The European Focus has indicators (blinkers) in the front corner and on the fender behind the wheel well, and the rear bumper has the rear fog light and reverse light built in. You can order these bumpers from Sean Hyland Motorsports
The USA/Canadian Focus has indicators (blinkers) on the front side of the bumper and in the grille, the rear bumper is as smooth has a baby's butt. The Wings West Focus is actually a European car with US bumpers, which explains the Euro triangular blinker (side marker) on the fender. BTW the US/Canadian bumpers protrude more than the European counterparts.
Just a Thought
I wonder how much the European bumpers cost in USDs. I think it looks better than the US/Canadian counterparts
Ford Focus SVT or Focus Cosworth for the US ?
July 1999 A US Ford engineer told me he has suggested a Focus with the Contour SVT V6 power plant. He told his bosses, "I guarantee the car will sell like HOT CAKES."
December 1999 Automobile Magazine. Spy shot of a possible Focus SVT under testing with the Contour SVT's V6 power plant.
March 2000 Motor Trend. Expect an enthusiast oriented Limited Edition SVT badged Focus with more aggressive front and rear fascias set off by a subtle rear spoiler mounted at the top of the back glass. The 2 liter 16-valve DOHC Zetec four 130HP powerplant will be upgraded to produce 150-160 HP, tuned suspension, larger four wheel disc brakes and bigger wheels with wider low profile tires. Focus SVT will cost around $20K.
Further down the road the possibility of a Euro-Only down scaled version of the Focus WRC with a 240 HP turbocharged engine and AWD. We'll probably see a slightly tamer less costly version in the US.
Meanwhile a 225HP turbocharged one-off called the Focus R is currently running around in Michigan, a more likely near term possibility for us would be a mid-level offering that features a naturally aspirated 200HP engine and AWD.
April 2000 Inside Tip The 4 door hatchback is coming to America, late 2000 or early 2001 (Take a look in the gallery for a four door Focus Trend from the Netherlands)
June 12, 2000 Autoweek magazine . Shades of the VR6 GTI. Spied testing around the Detroit area was this Ford Focus with a 200-hp 2.5-litre V6 and 5 speed gearbox from the late Contour SVT. The bad news is that Ford will not build it. Bets are on a 2 litre turbo Zetec four for the much anticipated Focus SVT. Too bad, the ZX3's hatchback body would have a 350 lb or so weight advantage over the Contour sedan's body. "We're just goofing around with what's available," an SVT insider explains. Officially, SVT doesn't even have a Focus program yet. In addition to a modified front fascia, the Focus has a hand-fabricated wing atop its hatch. The reworked exhaust "sounds hot," the shooter says.
July 12, 2000 Autocar magazine. Focus Cosworth. Rumored to cost £30,000, the turbocharged 4WD 310bhp Focus will do 0-60 in under 5 seconds and is geared at fighting the new and upcoming Mitsubishi EVO 7 and the Subaru Impreza WRX. 18" alloys with 235/40 Z-rated tires will be rollers for this monster. The Cosworth Focus will be led in by the £17,000 170bhp Focus ST170 possibly next Spring. Besides the obvious power difference, the WRC wing on the Cossie will be the visual difference between it and the ST170.
Will the U.S. and Canada, see these models? I'm praying.
October 18, 2000 Autocar. Focus RS.
October 2000 Performance Ford Magazine. V6 Focus (Remember "Shades of the VR6 GTI" ?)
November 2000 Performance Ford Magazine. 220 HP turbo Focus R.
December 2000 Performance Ford magazine. Focus RS
Focus SVT unveiled at the 2001 Chicago Auto show (Story by Blue Oval News)
Performance on a budget. That's what Ford's new spunky SVT Focus is all about. SVT has produced great performers throughout the years, but with most being price in the 30K range, some couldn't make the crossover to SVT power. The SVT Focus is set to change all that. It makes it so anyone can now buy a piece of performance tuned SVT metal. The car is small, but the performance is not. Sporting 170HP from it's Zetec 4-Cylinder and a Getrag 6-SPEED transmission, it's sure to set the compact world on it's head. Memo to Honda Execs : Incoming!
It's the hot little racer that still leaves enough room in the budget for gas money the 2002 Ford SVT Focus.
For more info or photos
April 2001 Motor Trend Magazine Focus FR200 vs. Corvette Z06
Checkout Steeda Autosport's Focus ZX3
"At a recent baseline testing session at
Moroso Motorsports Park the as-delivered Focus managed a run of
16.29@83mph, besting a SVT Contour by 2/10ths and a modified SOHC
VTEC Honda Civic".
Checkout Sean Hyland Motorsport's Focus ZX3 EVO
You can have yours your way
"The art of driving requires a finely balanced instrument"
The focus EVO is a result of this philosophy. Whether carving through a winding mountain road or cruising through the streets of the city, the EVO provides the driver with the proper balance of grip and ride. Several options allow the owner to tailor the EVO to suit their own style.
Computer enhanced photo by Radovan Varicak/Road and Track
September 2002 Road and Track magazine
The Ford Focus Cosworth conjures up images of 4-wheel drifts and high flying jumps. Based on Ford's WRC car, it will have a turbo charged 4-cylinder producing close to 300 BHP, all wheel drive and flashy bodywork; probably for Europe only.
Look out for a hotter version of the SVT Focus with a turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive, aimed squarely at the Subaru Impreza WRX and will likely boast 240 BHP.
New 2003 Focus RS WRC rally car
April 1, 2003 Supercars.net (At first I thought this was an "April Fool's" joke)
A radical new look hints at the most technically
advanced and revolutionary Ford Focus world rally car, unveiled today
prior to its competition debut on the Rally New Zealand on April 11.
Ford Rallye Sport has unveiled the most technically advanced and
revolutionary rally car ever with the launch of the Ford Focus RS WRC 03
at the team's Dovenby Hall base in Cumbria, England.
Innovative
in its radical styling, the evolution version of the successful Focus
RS, winner of 11 world rallies since its debut in 1999, will make its
competition debut on the fourth round of the FIA World Rally
Championship, the Rally New Zealand, on 10-13 April.
The new
Focus RS is radically different in both looks and mechanics to the car
which competed on the opening three rounds of the 2003
championship.
Technical director Christian Loriaux and his
engineering team at M-Sport, the company which operates Ford's world
rally programme, have added significant performance improvements to the
most dependable and reliable car in the championship and a stunning new
aerodynamic package gives the Focus RS an eye-catching contemporary
look.
Highlights of the new Focus RS include:
-Radical
changes to styling and aerodynamic packages
-New rear suspension
system
-Improved weight distribution
-Weight savings throughout
the car
-New body shell and a roll cage which far exceeds minimum
FIA safety requirement
-New lightweight engine developed and built
by Cosworth Racing
-Revised wiring loom and electronic control
system
-More efficient engine and transmission cooling
-Enhanced
Digital Messaging System
-Revised hydraulic control system
The
car is Loriaux's first design since joining the team at the start of
2002. Starting with a clean sheet of paper, initial design work began in
mid-May 2002 and just seven months elapsed between then and the car's
first brief test run six days before Christmas.
Since then the
car has undergone a comprehensive testing programme, most of it on
gravel, in advance of its New Zealand debut.
Engineers at
M-Sport and Fords newly announced Team RS technical department in
Cologne, Germany, worked closely on the project.
Mainstream
engineers at Ford undertook detailed analysis on Loriaux's roll cage
design and the new rear suspension while the climatic wind tunnel in
Cologne was used for advanced testing in the development of the cooling
system and aerodynamics.
Interview with
technical director Christian Loriaux
Ford Rallye
Sport's technical director, Christian Loriaux, is the man behind the new
Ford Focus RS WRC 03. Here he reveals what is new on the car, the
thinking behind its design and tells the story of the transformation
from drawings to our world championship contender.
If World
Rally Cars can be described as stunning, then that is the word I would
use to describe the new Ford Focus RS WRC. The large rear wing and
revised bumpers give the car a very contemporary look from the outside
and much has changed underneath as well, but it remains clearly
recognisable as a Focus. We began with a clean sheet of paper and we've
ended with a radical, revolutionary rally car which retains all that was
good from the previous model. That has been taken forward to a higher
level and blended with much that is new and the end result is a car that
we know is faster and believe will be just as reliable as its
predecessor.
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is one of the key
areas of development and, by the very look of the vehicle, the most
strikingly obvious. We wanted to improve the downforce on the Focus as
we've been losing time to our key rivals on the faster rallies like
Finland and it's one area where we have to make gains. I've had quite a
lot of experience in aerodynamics and know how important a strong
package is in gaining vital seconds on faster rallies. There was clearly
room for improvement over the 2002 car. One look tells you there have
been some quite radical changes. There is a new, larger rear wing, the
front bumper has been redesigned while the cooling scoops and all the
body panels are new. That was a big task. We needed a lead time of four
months to manufacture the body panels. We carried out a lot of
preparation work in Ford's wind tunnel and spent three days testing
different ideas before finally settling on the basic package. When I
arrived at Ford Rallye Sport in January 2002 the aerodynamic work for
last year's car was almost finished, so I had little input on that. We
knew we needed to make changes but, as aerodynamic alterations are
strictly restricted by homologation, this is our first opportunity.
Suspension
The front
suspension remains similar to that used on the 2002 model, although
there are some changes to the dampers, which once again includes weight
saving. The regulations limit what we can do to the suspension, and
we've already put in a lot of work in that area last season, but we have
incorporated small geometry improvements. I think we've probably reached
the point where we have optimised the front suspension as far as the
regulations will allow us to go. As for the rear suspension, there are
some major changes. We have completely redesigned that area to improve
road handling by using the dynamics of the suspension and saving weight.
This was a big job and, technically, a risk, but I'm glad we made the
decision to do it. The work we've done there is not really something I
want to go into in any great depth. All I really can say is that it's
very different to what we had before.
Weight
Another of our target areas was weight. We wanted to
save weight and, just as importantly, distribute the weight to those
areas of the car where we want it to improve balance and handling. We
initially reviewed everything and examined the possibilities of reducing
the weight on every area of the Focus, from the engine through to the
dampers. As a team, I think we succeeded in doing that. Pi Research
designed a new wiring loom and electronic control system which saved a
lot and Cosworth Racing also made a significant saving with the new
engine. The car is now right on the weight limit. We could easily go
quite a lot below that so that has allowed us to add weight and
reinforce parts in certain areas to achieve the weight distribution we
want.
Body shell and roll
cage
Both the body shell and roll cage are totally
new. The cage has been designed to far exceed the minimum FIA safety
requirements. It's one area of the car where we've actually increased
the weight to improve driver safety. The Focus already had a good
reputation in this area but we took the decision that if we could make
the car even safer for our drivers, then we should do so. The main area
of danger in a rally car is from side impact accidents and we've tried
to position the driver and co-driver as far inboard as possible by
making the transmission tunnel narrower. The cage is further outboard of
the cockpit and we've redesigned the side impact bars to improve crash
protection there. We all know that rallying can be a dangerous sport and
we have a responsibility to our drivers to make the cockpit area of the
car as safe as we possibly can.
Engine
Cosworth Racing, which has built the engines for the
Focus at Northampton since 2000, has built a new two-litre Duratec 'R'
engine. There is a significant weight reduction over the 2002 engine,
making this the lightest rally engine the company has built, and
revisions to the turbocharger have helped produce better response and
more top end power. We've also redesigned the cooling package to improve
efficiency and we should see cooler running temperatures on the hot
rallies like the Acropolis and Cyprus. It is interesting to note that
since 2000 Cosworth has made a 25% reduction in engine weight and
generated an 8% increase in engine performance.
Transmission
We wanted to keep the
transmission similar to that in the 2002 car. This car has a two-year
lifespan and developing a new transmission is a hugely expensive job,
especially when we will have a new car for 2005. As a result of the
changes to the suspension, we have a new propshaft and driveshafts and
there will be a new transfer box introduced later in the season. That
should be ready for Germany. Otherwise the transmission shows very few
differences, although we have optimised the internal parts to save
weight.
Story by Ford Motor Corporation
Cosworth Focus
August 2003 Sport Compact Car (SPIED! Ford's Ultimate Focus)
Caught testing in Scandinavia was this prototype for the next generation of Ford Focus high-performance street machines.
Don't be fooled by the sheetmetal; this ground grinder is based on the upcoming second generation Focus and is slightly larger in most dimensions than the current car. In order to go up against cars like the Mitsubishi EVO VIII, VW R32 and Subaru WRX, this next Focus Cosworth has AWD and a turbocharger on it's Zetec four to heave output to about 300hp. Expect both a six speed transmission and a thick intercooler to be part of the package when this car hits European showrooms some time in 2005.
What's the chance of the Cosworth making it to the USA? Rumors are that SVT's budget is under severe pressure and the SVT Focus is likely a goner. Bringing over the Cosworth would plug a hole in the Ford line-up without unduly high development costs and cast a halo of WRC ability over the whole of the Focus line. So, it might happen and might not.
Supercharged V8 Focus ZX3
Fall 2003 Focus Fanatic Magazine (ATI Motorsports' Terminator Focus ZX3)
For $69,500 plus a donor Focus ZX3 you can have the ultimate sleeper, with a 24,000 mile warranty on all workmanship and custom componets. Writer Dale Amy describes the car as "feeling as quick as an overboosted Cobra on a 600 pound diet."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Viewer Foci 10/4/2003
Tuner Foci 8/19/2001
----------------------------------------------------------------
LINKS
Sean Hyland Motorsport Focus EVO
Disclaimer
For problems, questions, suggestions, and send photos to hatchnet@hotmail.com
All trademarks, photographs, product names mentioned or displayed on any of these pages are the property of their respective owners.
If you see an image that belongs to you please send me an email so that I may give you credit. Some images taken from other webpages and magazines.
This page was created by Jeremy Goodin
Updated October 5, 2003
Copyright © Hatchback Network 1999-2003. All rights reserved.