15k: 2002 Ford Focus SVT w/ V8

Open the hood on most economy cars and you will find a 4 cylinder engine transverse mounted and mated to the front wheels.  This 2002 Ford Focus SVT located in Los Angeles, CA and found on ebay is offered with a V8 and rear wheel drive for $15000 buy-it-now price on ebay.

This black Ford Focus does not look like anything special from the outside – other than a few extra hood vents and a nice looking set of gunmetal wheels covering red painted Wilwood 4-piston calipers, it looks stock.

Under the hood you will find a Ford 4.6 liter modular V8 from a 2004 SVT Cobra mustang – minus the supercharger (presumably it wouldn’t fit under the hood).  The seller assures us that this car has dyno’d 270 horsepower to the pavement and 292 ft-lbs of torque – more than enough to cause freeway speeds panic inducing wheel spin in a short wheel based hatchback.

The interior looks to be in decent shape and sports a Momo steering wheel to help control the extra power and the seller assures us that all of the gauges (except a few in a pod) work great.  The T-56 6-spd shift looks at home in the Focus and a hydraulic clutch will facilitate smokey burnouts.

The car also features 4 corner height adjustable coilovers, an obviously custom exhaust system and a fuel cell in the trunk.  Another positive is that the seller claims to have 20k miles on it since the transformation, 10k of which have been trouble free.  Unfortunately the seller also says that it has not yet passed California smog and will need some time with a smog referee or an out of state buyer.

Does this Focustein’s monster fit the bill for your daily turismo? Or would you rather a real Cobra for this price?

Have another monster to share?  email us at dailyturismo@gmail.com