Ford’s Peformance Revival

Ford has promised 12 new global performance cars between now and 2020. That was Ford’s message at the recent Detroit Auto Show that casts a bright glow on the horizon for Aussie Blue Oval fans so recently accustomed to gloom and doom.

One of the biggest talking points was just how dramatic Ford’s push on the performance car front has suddenly become, punctuated by three of the event’s biggest showstoppers: the resurrected GT sportscar, track focused Mustang Shelby GT350R and ostentatious F-150 Raptor.

A demonstration of Ford’s mindset as it marches forward with the One Ford globalisation of its product ranges, Ford’s performance pitch at the Detroit show not only overshadowed but pushed against the industry grain of fuel consumption/emissions reduction trends.

Despite the ever-present Ecoboost marketing pitch, it was a clear message: Ford wants to party and be taken very seriously as a performance figurehead on road, track or beaten path.

All three production preview cars at Detroit demonstrated a Ford pushing go-fast extremes with little sympathy for tree-hugging. Its revamp of the GT specifically showcases Ford’s ability to design and engineer hyper-exotic machinery capable of matching Europe’s best on holistic merit rather than just
outright pace.

The F-150 Raptor, with its all-alloy bodywork and twin-turbo V6 and 10-speed powertrain, also demonstrates that Ford is bold enough to build bespoke, segment-leading model ranges in relatively low volumes.

Meanwhile, the Shelby GT350R (and regular GT350), with its specialised flat-plane-crank 5.2-litre V8, shows Ford will go the extra yards, if necessary, to recapture the pedigree of its most revered heritage.

The crucial context, though, is that, officially at least, none of the three halo cars are due to be sold outside of North American and Canadian markets.

However, Ford’s top brass used the Detroit forum to announce its international go-fast game plan loud and clear, confirming it will offer “more than 12 new performance vehicles through 2020 to be available globally.”

In doing so, the carmaker formally announced its Ford Performance brand which, it explains, “[unites] regional performance and racing teams as one global team under Ford Performance”. Essentially, the new banner absorbs and combines the collective resources of Blue Oval skunkworks such as SVT, Team RS, Ford Racing and, of course, Australia’s own FPV.

Lead by global director Dave Pericak, Ford Performance will maintain various regional engineering departments throughout the world to “develop new vehicles and technologies” and has established a primary technical centre of sorts in Charlotte, North Carolina. A wide network, then, but one filter with which Ford’s enhanced product will be funnelled through moving forward.

“The Ford Performance organisation [serves] as a laboratory and test bed to create unique performance vehicles, parts, accessories and experiences for customers,” is the message from the horse’s mouth in Detroit.

For Aussie Ford fans, the announcement seals the demise of the FPV brand in Australia. In the One Ford big picture, the main game is global model ranges and the plan is everything from the podium victories to merchandising will output through the same Ford Performance branding.

The message couldn’t be clearer. Without a locally built car with which to hang its providence on, there are no reasons rational, commercial or otherwise, for FPV branding to continue. It won’t disappear altogether, however, as Ford Australia will slowly phase the brand out rather than kill it dead.

If Ford’s official line is taken as gospel, the yet undisclosed dozen “global” performance cars excludes the GT, Shelby GT350/GT350R and F-150 Raptor models. So far, the only truly international nameplate release confirmed under the Ford Performance banner is the new-generation Focus RS, due to lob later this year.

EXPECT THE ST BADGE TO APPEAR ON MOST OF FORD’S VOLUME SELLERS
T O ATTRACT YOUNGER BUYERS

So what are the other 11 Ford Performance models? And what hot metal can Aussies expect to land in local showrooms in the next six years between now and end of the 2020?

Read between the lines, a ‘global’ model doesn’t necessarily have to be one sold to all available markets. For example, it seems illogical that Ford would sink the considerable investment required to green light its GT hypercar and not make variations of the core vehicle available in markets outside the US if buyer demand dictated. Ditto for F-150 Raptor.

Certainly some of the unnamed 11 models will be next-generation revamps or facelifts of existing ranges, such as Fiesta and Focus. Five years is a long time in a model’s lifecycle and, as of December last year, Ford pledged to launch 20 new or refreshed models across its range by 2020.

Expect the ST badge to proliferate across Ford’s more affordable volumesellers. Ford sees ST branding as the lynchpin to attracting younger buyers. “In the US, more than 65 per cent of ST customers come from outside the Ford brand,” is the claim. “Millennials are purchasing ST vehicles at a rate twice that of other Ford-branded vehicles.”

Indeed, it’s feasible both of Ford Performance’s two established enhancement grades ST and RS will roll out across not just Fiesta and Focus but also to Johnny-come-lately ‘new’ Mondeo that will debut in Oz mid-year. You’d be brave to bet against Ford marketing go-faster versions of the Kuga small SUV which already makes 178kW/345Nm in high-spec variants or its EcoSport city car, particularly to Asian and European markets with a hunger for sports variants of compact urban vehicles.

While the Detroit Show F-150 Raptor is unlikely to see Aussie terra-firma, a performance-enhanced and -styled version of the soon-to-be-facelifted Ranger in a market increasingly enamoured with imported utilities seems like a no-brainer.

And Mustang? The emergence of the stove-hot, hardcore Shelby GT350/GT350R breed so early in the sixth gen’s lifecycle perhaps suggests some crucial changes afoot for the pony car in the mid-term future. Indeed, the GT’s naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 must surely be on borrowed timed in the face of ever-tightening emissions and fuel consumption legislation If Mustang is to continue as a
global product meeting Europeanlead restriction while packing proper performance credentials, a new powerplant must surely be on the cards. Or perhaps right in front of our faces.

That both the GT hypercar and F-150 Raptor premiered at Detroit with 3.5 litres of twin-turbocharged power is a bold indicator of where Ford Performance’s head is at with future powertrain technology. Ford even went to pains at the January show to point out the format’s motorsport pedigree, stating that: “the 3.5-litre Ecoboost engine…powers a record-setting (IMSA Tudor Championship) Daytona racing prototype sports car as well as Ford cars, trucks and utilities.”

With the vast majority of Europe’s serious performance cars moving to downsized forced-induction engines, it’s perhaps a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ high-spec Mustangs move to a more-powerful yet greener turbo-six powerplant than the current eight. It’s certainly feasible that ‘when’ could be well within the six-year 2020 target, offering the Ford Performance arm the ideal forum with which to leverage its expertise across numerous variants.

While most of Ford Performance’s future output is wrapped in speculation, what’s certain is Australia’s first taste of the brand will be the updated Focus ST in May, followed by the much anticipated local launch of the Mustang.

Following in early 2016 will be the red-hot Focus RS, which has been confirmed for Australia. While details of the successor to 2009’s bespoke limited-edition hatch are thin on the ground rumours that front-drive may be ditched in favour of all-paw traction are as yet unconfirmed the revamped RS set for world-wide release is expected to produce in excess of 240kW from its 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine shared with the entry-level Mustang.