2013 Ford Focus ST Headed to L.A. Auto Show; Debuting New Torque-Steer Compensation System

Good news, everyone. The long-awaited Ford Focus ST is coming to the 2011 Los Angeles auto show. If you didn’t know yet, the Focus ST is essentially the same car worldwide (except for a wagon version that we won’t see here). What does this mean? It means that the Focus ST we’ll see in L.A. is pretty much the same Focus ST we saw in Frankfurt. Official North American horsepower figures haven’t been announced yet, but in Europe the car makes 247 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, so expect our version to arrive with numbers in that neighborhood.

More news: the ST will come with a torque-steer compensation scheme using its electronic power-assisted steering (EPAS). When the system senses torque steer, EPAS reacts by varying the torque of the power-assistance motor to dampen out the effects of torque steer. Unlike the trick (and expensive) RevoKnuckle found on the previous Ford Focus RS, torque-steer compensation deals with the symptom and not the cause. But still, we’re excited to see how the Focus drives when it comes out early next year.

Source: Car and Driver