By John Lamm

Ford Racing and OlsbergsMSE will build Ford Fiesta ST race cars to compete in the 2013 Global Rallycross Championship driven by two-time GRC champion Tanner Foust and 2012 runner-up Brian Deegan. The Fiesta ST race car will debut at the 2013 Chicago auto show. In addition, Ken Block and his Hoonigan Racing Division also will compete with a Fiesta ST in GRC rounds plus the four X Games events that include Rallycross—the well-known games in Los Angeles and events in Brazil, Spain, and Germany.

How quick is the OlsbergsMSE Fiesta ST GRC? How about a 0-to-60-mph time of 2.0 seconds. And how does it do that? OlsbergsMSE starts with a 2.0-liter Ford twin-cam Duratech four, caps it with its own cylinder head, and adds a Magnaflow exhaust and a big Garrett turbo. Remember, this is just a 2.o-liter turbo four, but it produces 550-plus horsepower (most likely closer to 600) and more than 590 lb-ft of torque. OlsbergsMSE builds the transmission and all-wheel-drive system including the gearshift and—important in these cars—the hydraulic handbrake. The shocks are from Öhlins, springs from Eibach, brakes via Alcon and the 17-inch wheels are Motegis. OlsbergsMSE does the exterior body panels in Kevlar, and the rear spoiler in carbon fiber. Inside is an AIM digital dash.

• Comparison Test: 2013 Ford Focus ST vs. 2012 Volkswagen GTI
• Prototype Drive: 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost
• Comparison Test: 2013 Dodge Dart Rallye vs. 2012 Ford Focus SE

Ford is coming off a successful 2013 GRC season with one-two finishes at Charlotte, Las Vegas Motor Speedways, and at SEMA, plus a podium sweep at Texas Motor Speedway. It also scored silver and bronze medals in last summer’s X Games. Ford has been the GRC manufacturers champion for the past two years, but the strongest competition comes from crosstown rivals in the form of  Travis Pastrana, the 17-time X Games gold medalist who will be competing in a 600-hp Dodge Dart racer.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver