I stuck a rally engine my old Ford Fiesta - 9.3:1 compression, 450-lift cam, dual Webers, balanced/blueprinted, reworked head, racing header and straight pipe. The car would have been better had it had appropriate gearing for the narrow powerband, but it still revved up to 7,000 RPM. It was about 150 hp and got 12 mpg. But it was fun, fun, fun. Torque steer was commonplace - it was like arm wrestling with a gorilla. But it could give a 911 a lesson or two - while the car lasted...
I would agree FWD is much more advanced than in '78 when my Fiesta was produced. The Focus is a very nice car for the money, and seems strong enough to win the SVT badge of approval. The Cobra version...yummy! But wouldn't it be sort of nose heavy? Personally, I'd want to see if I could adapt a toned-down BDA motor in there - 2.0 liters, 300 horsepower, and very lightweight.
Purry - keep us up to date. Good luck!
