An exhilarating line-up of some of the fastest Ford road and race cars from around the world is demonstrating the diversity of Ford Performance programmes at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place near Chichester in the U.K.
The all-new Focus ST makes its U.K. public debut on the world-famous Goodwood Hillclimb, alongside the all-new Mustang Shelby GT500, seen for the first time in Europe demonstrating its 760 horsepower performance.
Fresh from the Le Mans 24 Hours, the #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT race car swaps the Circuit de la Sarthe for the Hillclimb course wearing the special “Celebration Livery” in which it completed the iconic race. The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ford Fiesta WRC car also shows off its proficiency on the asphalt and loose surfaces of the Hillclimb and Forest Rally Stage.
Ford’s 2018 NASCAR Championship-winning performance is on show for the first time in Europe via the Team Penske Ford Fusion race car, and the 1980 Ford Zakspeed Turbo Capri race car celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Ford Capri sports coupe.
Champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. returns to Goodwood in 2019 with his Ford Mustang RTR Drift car, as does Gymkhana TEN star Ken Block – this time with his famous Hoonitruck and Escort RS Cosworth models.
“The Ford Performance team serves as an innovation laboratory and test-bed, helping our motorsport programmes around the world deliver even more exciting road cars and experiences for our customers,” said Leo Roeks, Ford Performance director, Europe. “Whether it’s the Ford GT race car’s anti-lag technology that influences the system now enhancing Focus ST turbo response, or the go-anywhere capability of Fiesta WRC car replicated in the Ranger Raptor pick-up, bringing the spirit of competition into our road-going models is at the core of what we do.”
Also on show to the public for the first time, the new Ford Puma SUV-inspired crossover stars alongside the all-new Kuga SUV on the Ford stand, where visitors can find exciting activities and challenges including the opportunity to win a passenger ride in the Ford Ranger Raptor – now available in the Forza Horizon 4 racing game.
All-new Focus ST breaks cover
Driven up the Goodwood Hillclimb by seven-time British motorsport champion Paul Swift, the all-new Focus ST features a 280 PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol engine for 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration in 5.7 seconds in five-door body style. Delivering 420 Nm of torque, the Focus ST offers even faster in-gear acceleration than the acclaimed previous generation Focus RS.
Advanced sports technologies including twin-scroll turbocharging and anti-lag – plus optional Launch Control and rev-matching for the short-throw six speed manual gearbox – support the most responsive Focus ST driving experience ever. Unique suspension, braking and powertrain configurations are delivered by a Ford Performance-led development process.
The Focus ST is the first front-wheel drive Ford to feature an electronic limited-slip differential, which enhances the cornering and stability of the EcoBoost-powered variant as standard – sharpening responses to changing grip levels and driver inputs using computer-controlled pre-emptive actuation.
Selectable Drive Modes enable drivers to adjust the vehicle’s character to suit the driving scenario including Sport mode with dedicated steering wheel mounted button, and hardcore Track Mode as part of the optional Performance Pack. Continuously Controlled Damping – standard for five-door EcoBoost variants – enhances the short long arm independent rear suspension configuration for ultimate refinement.
“We’ve drawn inspiration from the Ford GT supercar, F‑150 Raptor pick-up, Ford Mustang and Fiesta ST to develop a Focus ST capable of punching you in the back the moment you hit the throttle,” Roeks said.
The all-new Focus ST is available from launch in five-door and wagon body styles offering 280 PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol and 190 PS 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel powertrains with six-speed manual transmissions. Five-door and wagon 2.3-litre EcoBoost seven-speed automatic variants will also be introduced from autumn 2019.
Unprecedented power: Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Making its European debut after being unveiled for customers in the U.S. earlier this year, the all-new Mustang Shelby GT500’s 760 horsepower performance will be kept in check at Goodwood by three-time world champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr.
The Shelby GT500 is the most powerful street-legal Ford ever, with a hand-built, aluminium, supercharged 5.2-litre V8 engine supporting 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) acceleration in the mid-3 second range, and sub-11-second quarter-mile times. Delivering 625 lb/ft of torque, it is the most power- and torque-dense supercharged production V8 engine in the world.
The Shelby GT500 features unique suspension geometry, a new electronic power steering unit and lighter-weight coil springs front and rear. Combined with next-generation active MagneRide™ suspension, the payoff is the highest-ever lateral acceleration from a Mustang for greater track performance and driver control.
Two-piece, 420 mm front brake discs are the largest of any sports coupe on sale in the U.S., and are supported by six-piston Brembo callipers for ultimate stopping power. A TREMEC® seven-speed dual-clutch transmission can shift smoothly in less than 100 milliseconds.
Ford GT Le Mans racer unleashed
Each of the four factory Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs that competed in last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race featured a special “Celebration Livery” reflecting Ford’s success at Le Mans, both in the present day and during the 1960s.
The #66 Ford GT driven up the hill at this year’s Goodwood event by Stefan Mücke – and piloted at Le Mans by Mücke alongside teammates Olivier Pla and Billy Johnson – bears a special black livery echoing the Ford GT40 of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon that won Le Mans in 1966.
The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs feature a lightweight carbon and aluminium chassis, carbon fibre body panels and a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 engine delivering 500 PS and 500 Nm of torque.
The Ford GT race car is based on the Ford GT road car – which delivers 655 PS and 750 Nm of torque; a top speed of 347 km/h (216 mph); and features active aerodynamics for ultimate performance.
Limited to just 250 examples per year, the Ford GT is among the world’s most exclusive supercars. The company is set to make a special Ford GT announcement during a dedicated press conference from 09:45 BST, July 4, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Hermann Salenbauch, global director, Ford Performance, and Larry Holt, chief technical officer, Multimatic, will deliver news on the Ford GT ultra-high-performance supercar.
Ford Fiesta WRC takes the stage
Campaigned by the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in the FIA World Rally Championship, the Ford Fiesta WRC car delivers 385 PS and 450 Nm of torque from Ford’s 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine, for lightning-fast four-wheel drive performance whether on pave roads or gravel tracks.
M-Sport WRC driver Elfyn Evans is demonstrating the combination of performance and driving skill that last year secured him his first WRC win at the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, with high-speed runs on the Goodwood Hillclimb and Forest Rally Stage.
Evans’ teammate, Teemu Suninen, last month secured his best-ever result at Rally Italia Sardegna, finishing in second place overall in the Ford Fiesta WRC car. Evans and Suninen are currently fourth and fifth respectively in the drivers’ championship.
Ford Fusion NASCAR racer in Europe
Swapping more familiar territory of American oval races up to 600 miles (965 km) long for a hillclimb sprint of a little over 1 mile, the Team Penske Ford Fusion NASCAR race car brings a taste of one of Ford’s most successful U.S. motorsport programmes to West Sussex, England.
Like all NASCAR racers, the #22 Team Penske Fusion that claimed the driver’s championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018 driven by Joey Logano remains true to stock car racing roots – powered by a 5.8-litre Ford V8 engine producing 775 horsepower and 530 lb/ft of torque. Gear changes are via a four-speed manual H-pattern transmission.
Featuring a steel tube frame, hand-formed sheet metal bodywork and a Penske chassis, the Team Penske Fusion is driven at Goodwood by U.S. sports car driver Billy Johnson – the most successful driver of all time in the IMSA Continental Tire Championship who most recently won the 2016 championship with the a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R-C.
Celebrating Capri with the Zakspeed Turbo
A hardcore racing version of the iconic Ford Capri, the flame-spitting Zakspeed Turbo Capri was built to compete in Germany’s DRM touring car and sports car racing series – winning the Division 2 championship in 1981 driven by Germany’s Klaus Ludwig.
Powered by a turbocharged 1.7-litre engine, further enhanced from the Cosworth BDA engine based on Ford’s 1.3-litre Kent engine of the period, the Zakspeed Turbo Capri produces 540 PS and 482 Nm of torque.
The distinctive race car that competed in DRM championships between 1980 and 1982 is now owned and driven at Goodwood by Peter Mücke, founder of Mücke Motorsports and father of Stefan Mücke who raced the Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing until the conclusion of the team’s WEC racing programme at Le Mans this year.
First introduced in 1969, Ford sold more than 1.9 million Capris across 17 years of production.
Fan favourites Block and Gittin Jr. back on track
Hugely popular petrol-heads Ken Block and Vaughn Gittin Jr. return with their purpose-built high performance Fords for more sideways antics on the Goodwood Hillclimb and The Arena — a new drifting showground.
Block’s one-of-a-kind 1977 Ford F-150 Hoonitruck is living up to its name as it demonstrates its incredible 914 horsepower, 702 lb/ft of torque, rally-bred all-wheel drive performance for the first time at the event.
The truck, which debuted in the Gymkhana TEN video last year, features the largest 3D metal-printed part for a working vehicle in automotive history. Ford Performance engineers collaborated with a team of Ford research engineers in Europe and RWTH Aachen’s Digital Additive Production Institute, in Germany, to develop and build the intricate aluminium intake manifold.
Block’s new Ford Escort RS Cosworth Widebody “Cossie V2” also makes its Goodwood debut. The dramatically styled retro model was developed after Block lost his 1991 Ford Escort Cosworth Group A rally car to a fire while competing in summer 2018. Powered by a 317 PS Ford Cosworth 2.0-litre engine, the model features a WRC-style body kit over a widened chassis.
The Mustang RTR Spec 5-D driven by Gittin Jr. at Goodwood is the same record-breaking vehicle used last year when he became the first driver to drift all 13 miles of the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Developed specifically to compete in Formula Drift, Gittin Jr.’s bespoke Mustang is powered by a 5.0-litre Ford Performance Aluminator XS V8 engine with Vortech JT Trim Supercharger, and features a six-speed sequential Pfitzner Performance Gearbox and carbon fibre body panels.
Ranger Raptor off-road
The new Ford Ranger Raptor is the toughest and most high-performing version ever of Europe’s best-selling pick-up – developed by Ford Performance for the true enthusiast off-roader and powered by a Bi-turbo version of Ford’s 2.0‑litre EcoBlue diesel engine that delivers 213 PS and 500 Nm of torque, and Ford’s new 10-speed automatic gearbox.
Precision driver Paul Swift is showcasing the Ranger Raptor’s imposing dimensions, extreme styling and unique Ford Performance chassis optimised for high-speed off-road driving and go-anywhere capability in Goodwood’s Off-Road Arena.
Since July 2, even greater numbers of off-road driving fans are able to experience the Ranger Raptor’s performance, after the model became available in the Xbox open-world racing game Forza Horizon 4. Last year, the Ranger Raptor became the first ever vehicle launched at video gaming event, at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany.
“There’s a genuine fun-factor about this unique vehicle, a rally-style pick-up that will bring smiles to drivers and gamers across the world,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford of Europe. “It’s also a stunning addition to the virtual Ford garage that already includes some of the most driven vehicles on Forza, and we know gamers everywhere will enjoy all the on- and off-road thrills Ranger Raptor has to offer.”
Puma and Kuga debut on the Ford stand
Visitors to the three-story Ford Performance stand will also be among the first to experience the all-new Ford Kuga SUV and new Ford Puma SUV-inspired crossover models, following their introductions earlier this year.
Debuting sleek new exterior design with premium proportions that deliver improved roominess and comfort, the all-new Kuga is Ford’s most electrified vehicle ever, with the sophisticated all-new Kuga Titanium, sporty Kuga ST‑Line and upscale Kuga Vignale will offer an advanced range of hybrid powertrains for unprecedented Ford SUV fuel efficiency.
The charismatic new Puma fuses stunning exterior design, best-in-class uncompromised load space, and sophisticated mild-hybrid powertrain technology.
In addition gamers who set the fastest lap times using the Ford stand’s Forza Horizon 4 gaming pods stand a chance to win a passenger ride in the Ranger Raptor with Paul Swift, and a new toboggan run offers a Ford Performance-inspired high-speed, high-thrill slide around the stand structure.
SOURCE: Ford Motor Company
