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Ford Performance Drift Stick Turns Your Focus RS Into a Hoonigan’s Delight

Driving like Ken Block is the dream of many rallycross and Gymkhana fans. In a bid to help those enthusiasts get closer to their dream, Ford and Mr. Hoonigan himself came up with the… wait for it… “drift stick.” The name may sound funny, but the advantages are unquestionable.
Ford Performance Drift Stick 6 photos
Photo: Ford
Ford Focus RS drift stickFord Focus RS drift stickFord Focus RS drift stickFord Focus RS drift stickFord Focus RS drift stick
Available from December 2018, priced at $999, and exclusive to the 2016 to 2018 Ford Focus RS, the drift stick is the creation of John Wick. The name of the Ford Performance engineer gave birth to Project Wicked Stick, which morphed into the OEM upgrade you can see in the adjacent photos and video.

First of all, it’s not the hydraulic handbrake one would expect from a product endorsed by Ken Block. It’s actually an “electronic handbrake” that mounts between the driver’s seat and center console, which you need to connect to the car’s OBD-II port. The perceived gains of electronic engagement of the handbrake are obvious, and these include instantaneous engagement and release. Ford says the driver needs five to six pounds of pressure to operate the drift stick. That’s significantly less than what a hydraulic system necessitates.

There’s also the plug-and-play nature of the drift stick, which requires no welding, no hole drilling, and no calipers as necessary in a hydraulic kit. And finally, the OBD-II connection allows the hot hatchback’s driver to upload performance calibrations and check diagnostic data. But most importantly, both the peeps at Ford Performance and Ken Block argue the drift stick makes large-angle drifts easier than previously imaginable in the almighty Focus RS.

2018 is the last model year for the Focus RS in the United States, for Ford is preparing to roll out the fourth-generation Focus. Already spied in hatchback, station wagon, and ST flavors, the newcomer is longer and wider than the current model. On the flip side, most U.S.-spec Focus models will be sourced from China.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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