Ford Set to Launch Focus ST Driving Academy

Ford is putting potential customers behind the wheel of the Focus ST performance car with a 5-city tour beginning this summer.

A special program, called the Focus ST Performance Academy, begins June 30 in New York, followed by stops in Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The driving events will take place on Saturdays in June, July and August in each market on closed courses. They will feature a fleet of Focus STs for professional performance driver training, timed autocross competition and pre-event racing instruction.

“Our fans have expressed extremely high interest in this car, but we know the proof is in the pudding,” Lisa Schoder, Ford ST marketing manager, says in a statement. “We want ST fans, as well as drivers of competitive vehicles, to be able to taste this car firsthand.”

The Focus ST, set to launch in late summer, is powered by a 2.0L direct-injected turbocharged EcoBoost inline 4-cyl. engine producing 252 hp and 270 lb.-ft. (366 Nm) of torque. It will come standard with a 6-speed manual transmission.