(June 12, 2012) DEARBORN, Mich. — Pilots might call it the Focus with afterburners. Everyone else will call it really fast. The new Ford Focus ST features a four-cylinder, direct-injected turbocharged engine with an “overboost” feature that extends peak torque for up to 15 seconds at a time.
 
The gains extend the peak torque from 3,000 rpm to 4,500 rpm, whereas other EcoBoost engines would hit peak torque and begin to drop off at these higher engine speeds. This is the first overboosted Ford EcoBoost engine sold in North America.
 
Ford engineers made sure the overclocked EcoBoost 2.0-liter would have a very robust cooling system. “The turbo itself is specified for sustained, high-output performance, but they’ve programmed the car’s computer to dial in more boost past 3,000 rpm to give it that extra something,” says engineer Lisa Schoder, who is Marketing manager for Focus ST.
 
“We limit peak turbo boost to maintain a wide margin of safety and durability over the life of the car,” Schoder adds. “But overboost is cool in that it tweaks more acceleration through the turbo for brief periods for performance-hungry drivers.”