Special Edition ST500 lacks special

The Focus ST-3 uses a 20-valve five-cylinder Duratec 2.5 engine, which develops 225PS at 6,100rpm and 320Nm of torque at 1,600rpm. The ST500 is mechanically no different from the £19,845 St-3, but for £650 more you get a metallic black paint job and ‘classic’ silver racing stripes which stretch across the roof and bonnet and silver side stripes. These are (according to the press release) “designed to echo the livery of the winning GT40 in the 1-2-3 victory at Le Mans in 1966″. You also get a red leather interior.

Quite why you’d want to spend the extra £650 for some black paint, stripes and red hide I’m not sure. In fact, the ST500 is a bit of a non-edition, why not just specify panther black for £350 and stick with the ST-3′s leather Recaros? You could always pop down to Halfords later for some masking tape and a can of silver. Mazda had the right idea when they released their RX8 Kuro special edition, at least there you were getting a limited edition of 500 that had more spec for less money.

I’m not even sure how well the limited run of 500 cars will help the ST500 hold its value, I’ve seen no mention of individually numbered plaques, although, if you squint a little at the interior image in the gallery I think the center console does say ST500. Add the fact that its lairy red interior and racing stripes will likely attract a certain demographic, it leads me to believe that in 3 years time finding a well looked after ST500 will be a difficult task.

Gallery