2013 Ford Focus ST Mountune Review

The Focus ST Mountune upgrade, at £1,225 for silver and £1,275 for black, still means the boosted Focus costs less than a standard Volkswagen Golf GTi. The Fiesta ST Mountune upgrade costs £599**, with the finished Fiesta costing less than both the standard Peugeot 208 GTi and Renaultsport Clio 200 Turbo.

It seems Europeans get all of the automotive fun, right? Well, Ford is about to reinforce that belief by unveiling the Mountune package for the already insane Focus ST.

This Mountune program does its power-boosting deeds by way of a handful of new components, including: a cast-allot inlet duct for easier breathing; high-flow sports air filter; larger intercooler for less heat soak on extended drives; and recalibration of the electronic systems. Buyers can opt to have the inlet duct and intercooler in silver or powder coated in black.

As it sits, the UK-spec Focus ST packs a mean wallop at 250 PS (246 horsepower) 360 Nm (265 pound-feet) of torque straight off the showroom floor, but Ford’s Mountune program jumps it to an incredible 275 PS (271 horsepower) and 400 Nm (295 pound-feet) of torque.

The power bump drops the Focus ST’s 0-to-100lkm/h (62 mph) time from 6.5 to under 6 seconds. Additionally, the 31 to 62 mph acceleration time drops to just 4.9 seconds — a 0.8-second improvement.

The upgrade only takes about 90 minutes to install on the Focus ST and comes in at £1,225 ($1,852) for the silver components or £1,275 ($1,928) for the powder coated black components. This means a total investment of between £23,200 ($35,080) and £26,770 ($40,480), depending on the level of Focus ST and the Mountune kit chosen.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of this kit ever making it to the U.S. We can hope, right?

• Ford announces official power-boosting Mountune upgrades for Focus ST and Fiesta ST
• Mountune Focus ST delivers 275PS - 10PS more than a Porsche Boxster for £15,000 less - and races from 0-62mph in less than six seconds
• Mountune Fiesta ST delivers 215PS and sprints from 0-62mph in 6.7sec - beating the Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 AMG Sport
• Official upgrades can be fitted in 90 minutes or less and are covered by Ford warranty
• Available in UK from September at £1,225 for Focus and £599 for Fiesta - each upgraded model still costing less than standard rivals (Volkswagen Golf GTi, Peugeot 208 GTi and Renaultsport Clio 200)

Brentwood, Essex, 16 July 2013 - Ford’s critically acclaimed Focus ST and Fiesta ST hot hatches just got hotter with the introduction of official Mountune upgrades.

The packages are developed by race engine and road-car performance specialist Mountune, and boost output from the Focus ST’s 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine to 275PS - 10PS more than a Porsche Boxster which costs £15,000 more (£38,237).

Even the legendary Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 would be left with a rear view of the Mountune-upgraded Focus ST, which can sprint from 0-62mph in less than six seconds - more than half a second faster than the standard Focus ST.

Ford is also offering an official Mountune upgrade for the Fiesta ST, which will increase maximum power to 215PS*, enabling 0-62mph acceleration in 6.7sec, compared with 6.9sec on the factory model - faster than a £35,865 Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 AMG Sport.