Right out of the gate, the American model comes out swinging with a 250 horsepower 2-liter turbo, identical in output and displacement to the one the old Focus ST had. So what can they do to top that?
You guys probably already know the answer to that question. Taking inspiration from the legendary Focus RS, the new Focus ST has a 2.3-liter with fancy anti-lag technology. This unit produces a respectable 280 horsepower and 420 Nm (310 lb-ft).
In the hot hatch, that's enough to get you from 0 to 62 mph in six seconds. And using the magic of AWD, the Escape ST might be just as fast. We think it might need to be even faster, considering the latest batch of 300 horsepower crossovers from VW&Co. Gearbox? The Focus ST got the first automatic, a 7-speed with Adaptive Shift Scheduling. It reads the way you're driving and changes the shift patterns accordingly.
Rendering the Escape ST probably wasn't very hard for X-Tomi Design. After all, the European model (called the Kuga) already revealed its ST Line body kit. But he did try to match the paint and wheels, adding some red brakes for flair. But just because the project is easy to explain doesn't mean it will be ready too soon. In fact, we expect at least a full year of Nurburgring testing before it's ready to buy.
