Greenlight 2012 Ford Focus ST

Greenlight was once a diecast company producing nothing but classic American muscle.  But in the past few years they bought the rest of the tools from Malibu International and created the Motor World line.  In this line VW, Porsche, a Mercedes Sprinter Van, and compact cars called home.  Now the Fiesta was an odd one to choose, but this Focus ST makes much more sense in the line.

Focus ST: Originally not for U.S.

The Focus ST started life in the second generation of the Focus sold everywhere else except the U.S. where we got a revised previous generation Focus.  So with that the ST never came across the Atlantic.  Now as Ford introduces the new third generation Focus they made it worldwide after the new "One Ford" plan, and it was a matter of time before the ST made it's appearance, including the first one in the U.S.  Based on the 5-door hatch the new Focus gets more expressive styling, highlighted by the ST ground effects, new front bumper, headlights with LED running lamps, rear spoiler, center exhaust, unique double 5-sp. wheels, and wild colors like the Tangerine Scream seen here.

The interior features bolstered front seats to hold you securely during hard cornering, special shifter, auxiliary gauges just above the radio, and ST badges everywhere inside and out.  The engine was a no-brainer: the Ecoboost 2.0 Turbo I-4 from other Ford products, producing 252 hp. and 270 Ib-ft. torque through a six-speed manual.  There is an active differential, yet the car still has a bit too much torque steer from the power of the motor.

Greenlight version: Now in brighter colors

The Focus ST was first released in 2012 as a Black Bandit.  Cool, but some of the details got lost in the all-black finish.  The Motor World releases in red and yellow (shown) provide more attention to detail with eye-catching colors and silver wheels.  The yellow looks impressive and the details are clearly shown here.  A few nitpicks: Front headlights lack inner detailing found in the newest Greenlight tools, two, instead of one, gas-filler doors on each side just to the side of the taillight; and the ST logo in the back is a little off in the positioning.  The interior is nicely done with dash details clearly there in 3-D form, the bolstered seats and door panels are nicely done.  The base, however, is bland with only the exhaust system showing any detailing, and why does the rear have a screw while the front has a pressed rivet?

Either way the Focus ST now looks much better in brighter colors than blacked-out, which makes me appreciate this casting much more now.