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Driving The 275-HP Ford Focus ST That You Can Build Today

Conventional wisdom says that 300 horsepower is about the practical limit for a front-wheel-drive car. Based on my memories of the hilariously discombobulated Chevy Impala SS—the V8, front-drive one—I’d say that figure’s about right. Thus the Ford Focus ST Mountune MP275, with 275 horsepower and 296 lb-ft of torque, would seem to tread perilously close to that grey area between fun and terrifying. Those are pretty big numbers for a small car.

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The Mountune MP275 Performance Upgrade is a new factory-authorized power upgrade that cranks up the boost and improves the lung capacity of the ST’s 2.0-liter turbo four. You get a new intake, new ECU programming and a huge intercooler to boost output from the base 252 hp of the stock ST. Price: $1,999. Of course, while you’re at it you might want to improve your handling with a front strut tower brace ($215) and lowering springs ($300). You could further improve the breathing and the sound with the cat-back exhaust ($995). And with all that power, you’d probably want the Quaife torque-biasing differential ($1,174 with installation kit).

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Then you have a pretty hot little Focus ST, one that runs 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and sounds belligerent doing it. You also end up with a Focus that costs as much as a Mustang. And not a V-6 one. A well-optioned Focus ST goes for around $31,000, so adding the Mountune accouterments pushes you over the price threshold for a Mustang GT. Granted, a Mustang doesn’t have four doors and practical hatchback. But it does have 435 horsepower and rear-wheel-drive. In terms of pure performance numbers, even a Hertz-issue V-6 Mustang puts a beatdown on the MP275.

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But I guess the numbers aren’t the point, ultimately. The point is to have a special car, something not-quite-stock, that still carries the factory warranty (which the Mountune does, if you get the parts installed at the dealer or a creditable garage). The Focus ST, with its boost and its tail-happy torque-vectoring oversteer, is a bratty riot to begin with, so making it quicker and louder fits its mien. It’s a car for a particular stage in one’s life, that point you can afford the tuner car of your 16-year-old dreams but might need it to accommodate a car seat in the back. The Mountune can do that. This is a car that says, “I have a job and good credit, but I still don’t wish to be perceived as entirely responsible.” If a GTI is too staid and you need cat-back exhaust and Tangerine Scream paint in your life, the MP275 is ready to roll.

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I’m glad Ford is embracing tuner culture, at least in a form that doesn’t pose a threat to the upcoming 350-horsepower Focus RS, which will have an all-wheel-drive system that can send 100 percent of the torque to either rear wheel, enabling a new feature called “drift mode.” I’ll like to see what happens when Mountune gets its hands on that one. Then there’ll be a legitimate performance threat for the Mustangs. Even the ones that don’t come from Hertz.