Ever wondered how Ken Block does it? What started as a way to promote clothing and shoes — the Gymkhana set of videos — has certainly reached stratospheric awesomeness. (Reminder: Gymkhana Ten will be out next year) So, apart from his talent, the developed skills, and the right set of sponsors, he also needs the right choice of weapon for the job. And as Ford’s marketing team and multiple reviews (including ours) tell you, the Ford Focus RS isn’t a bad place to start.
It’s powerful, has a great chassis balance, and more importantly — for the job at hand, that is — comes with the fabled Drift mode. But what if, the mind wonders, one wanted to go a bit old-school rally-style. You know the drill, pull the handbrake, get into a slide, use the front wheels to power out of it.
If you happen to own a Ford Focus RS, you can, excuse the cliché, have the best of both worlds. There’s the all-round AWD goodness when you’re on public roads, and when on the track, you can get the Ford Performance Drift Stick (announced at SEMA) installed for some serious, erm, yanking.
The Drift Stick is an electronic handbrake, but is easier to engage, requires no extra modifications to fit (as a hydraulic setup would have), and works with the car’s AWD system and ABS. There’s no loss of warranty when you get one fitted — for which you have to be in either the US or Canada — and will be available from December 1 onwards. Also, it’s easily one of the best ways to spend $999 on your car.
Among Ford bods, the Drift Stick is known as Project Wicked Stick. And who would be more ‘wicked’ to advocate its use than Ken Block himself:
And if you were wondering what the Gymkhana Ten will be like, here’s the teaser:
You can read our Ford Focus RS review here.
