The article was originally produced on November 4, 2010, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Ford GT & Ford Focus RS500

Two Fords doped to the max, one with way too much powder on the back tires and the other with too much on the front tires.

Ford GT

A wet boyhood dream for many that will come true this day. I will have the pleasure of testing a Ford GT for a whole day with a stage 2 kit that scares up the already quite lively V8 with compressor to a whopping 650 horsepower. A horse kick in the back at full acceleration, in other words to put it mildly. The car is on loan from Callisma and when I arrive at their new, delicious premises in Danderyd, it has already been driven out and is standing there in the sun, shining with its bright yellow colour. Wow!

The Ford GT is based on the classic LeMans wagon GT40 with which Ford had great success for many years. That this car would have been manufactured in the 60s feels very difficult to understand when you see the design, which feels incredibly up to date with how super sports cars look these days. The shape is raw and hard and there's no telling what this beast is asking for as soon as you press the start button. 

And once you've pressed the start button and let the car understand that it's going to drive off, well then it's forbidden for me to just hold on as long as possible. When you let the 650 horses from the supercharged V8 flex their muscles and show all their power on a pair of rear tires that are indeed vulgarly wide but can't even come close to gripping the surface. The asphalt would prefer to go on vacation in this context if it had the choice. An anti-charge system is conspicuous by its absence, so it's important to know what to do when you're driving at the limit.

You leave two wide, long licorice strips behind you with every start it feels like and the whining sound of the supercharger feeding the V8 loads of air never seems to lack power. This, however, makes the car somewhat difficult to drive at maximum speed, just rolling through town is a piece of cake. When you roll through town, however, another problem arises and that is that you feel almost guilty because all the people who see the car will no doubt be lying with severe neck stiffness for days after they see the car. 

+ A car that will forever retain its coolness. A true monster of power.

- Expensive collector's car that is hard to come by. 

Ford Focus RS500

Building a car with 350 horses at the front wheels should only be criminal, but Ford has done it and with the help of a differential managed to tame the horses so that you don't drive off the road every time the plate hits the carpet and the so-called "tourqe-steer" effect becomes too strong. Old roof-trimmed Volvos and Saabs with far too much power on the front wheels were almost painful to drive anything other than straight ahead at full axle.

The RS500 is a limited edition version of the regular Focus RS. They have made a small upgrade to the engine, which is a straight five of 2.5 liters with a turbo. The regular RS has 305 horses, but now it has 350 and 460 newtons of torque.

The RS500 I have borrowed for our test has very tastefully received a so-called foiling in matte black, very appropriate for a small mean car like this, there is no doubting the car's attitude when you see it parked. 

Unfortunately, as usual on more modern Fords, the interior feels a bit plastic, but you sit very well in the Recaro seats and that feels quite important in this type of car.

The Focus RS is equipped with keyless go, so the only thing you need to do to bring the lively turbocharged four from Volvo to life is a simple push of the start button in the center console between the seats. The engine starts in a smooth way and makes no major expressions for being what it is. But as soon as you give a premonition that the gas pedal should be moved downwards to the floor, the turbo comes to life and starts hissing and gasping for air. With each release of the throttle, you have to say congratulations to the car, which emits a powerful sneeze of residual turbo pressure through the dump valve, a sound commonly found on roof-trimmed Japs but well hidden in standard wagons. 

500 in the name extension means that it is a limited version that will only be built in 500 examples. Despite this, you get an RS500 for only SEK 390,000, which in the context is quite reasonable money to get such a powerful and playful car. But the fact that Ford doesn't release this outrageous little thing in a four-wheel drive version is for me a big question mark. 

+ Brutally fun naughty car!

- Too much powder on the front wheels, why not a four-wheel drive version??