Those familiar with Carroll Shelby’s full body of work know that V-8-powered cars weren’t the only vehicles he was able to tune. Now, Shelby American has unveiled its latest car, and – believe it or not – it’s not a Mustang (though the specialty car builder did unveil a Mustang at the same time). Instead, Shelby unveiled the 2013 Ford Shelby Focus ST – a modern-day take on the original turbocharged Shelby hot hatch, the Dodge Omni GLH.
The new Shelby Focus ST represents the first car in Carroll Shelby’s “playbook” for the future of the brand. Starting at $14,995 (plus $24,495 for the donor Focus ST), the pocket rocket gets Shelby-spec brakes, a Ford Racing suspension, Borla catback exhaust, upgraded interior, new wheels and tires, and your choice of three different graphics packages (the race-inspired checkered series is especially sweet). Power – for now – remains unchanged at 252 hp out of the 2.0-liter turbo I-4. Shelby is working on a performance tune for its Focus that will boost power between 30 and 60 hp, while still remaining emissions-legal and running on pump gas.
The Focus ST is a step in a different direction for the brand that’s better known in more recent years for producing Mustangs and continuation Cobras. The Focus ST was built to get younger buyers into Shelby vehicles. The first question many enthusiasts will ask is, “Why didn’t Shelby call its new Focus ST the GLH?” The answer was quite simple – because the GLH and GLH-S monikers still have too much of a Mopar connection.
Read more: Motor Trend