Thanks for the info man. That info surprises me. I figured any SVT Ford, made a few more ponies than that because my stock bonnie pumps out 170 hp. Of coarse its all about power to wieght ratio and when you think about it the bonnie could use more than 170 hp.

A Contour would be pretty nice or even a 2 door focus (could take those turns real fast). In fact, right now I'm shopping around for a nice handling car or at least something thats a lot of fun to drive. Once I get the steering I want I can always add extra spunk. Anyone got any other suggestions :?:

IMO SVT should have gone with a larger engine with a SC in it, or throw a Turbo on the 2.0 liter. Hell, the new t-bird v-8 would fit in the engine bay, that would be killer, who needs turbo/SC when you've got a v-8 ina teeny tiny car.

The Focus is the first SVT that im disapointed in. Well, other than the fact that until this year you couldnt get a Lightning in anything other than a auto there'* something about having all that power, and having the damn thing shift for you that just doesnt sit right

I was watching a program on the speed channel where they dropped a small block V8 in an SVT Focus, converted it to RWD, put a nice exhaust system on, and left the outside appearance stock. Now THAT is a sleeper!

I'm not a fan of Focus styling, but I would drive a V8 powered one anyway of the week.

As would I... the reason I think that SVT wont make it faster is they don't want to step on the Mustang'* toes. I mean now they've got all bases covered, the SVT Focus for the ricer crowd, the mustang GT for the muscle car guys, the Cobra for the Rich muscle car guys and the GT coming out soon for the supercar. I don't really see much room for improvement of the SVT Focus without stepping on mustang toes, but at least a little bit? Come on Coletti, you can do better than 170 horse...

(Jon Coletti is the head of Ford'* SVT line)

I don't know about you guys but I'm really tired of seeing so many Mustangs on the road. Of course any Stang with a perfromance badge on it isn't bad but, they seem to be everywhere and they just aren't appealing enough. I can't wait for the Ford guys to drasticly change the Mustang. Don't get me wrong the mustang is better than quite a few other cars but, I'm just getting tired of this over use of heritage styling. Speaking of which the T-bird is a real victim of that (come on people, the car has portholes). If you look at the interior of a 2002 mustang and another mustang from 97 they look pretty much the same.

I saw a write-up on that V8 Focus. Didn't someone post a link to that site a while back? If someone can find it, it would be great to repost. I know it'* a Furd, but the idea is great!

http://www.ford-v8-focus.com/index.html

Thats one site, I can't find the one I wanted but that one works for now. There was another site where an entire 2003 Cobra drivetrain was swapped in, yeah the 390 horsepower supercharged 4.6 liter

I'll see if i can find it