To prove that its 3.5-litre Ecoboost is more than enough engine in the F-150 truck and that it’s durable, Ford will give the Ecoboost its racing debut at the famous Baja 1000 desert race this November. The twin turbo, direct injection engine will be in stock condition (said to have been selected randomly off the line from Cleveland Engine Plant), and the machine is this cool F-150 you see here.

“The engine going into our race truck for the Baja 1000 is the same engine going into the 2011 Ford F-150 that customers can purchase starting next year,” said chief engineer Eric Kuehn. “No special blocks or structural upgrades. We are fully confident that because of the strict testing the 3.5-litre EcoBoost truck engines underwent before we started manufacturing, it will take anything the desert can dish out.”

Ford will compete in full-size stock class, which includes competitors with unlimited V8 engines. For safety, a full roll cage is added to each truck. Also allowed for competition are modifications to the suspension, tyres and wheels.

Baja is part of a “torture test program” by Ford to convince customers that its 365 hp/570 Nm Ecoboost V6 is a class leading engine. Visitors to Ford’s US website can see a poor engine enduring thousands of miles on the dynamometer and in the lab to ensure 150,000-mile durability (240,000 km) for the most demanding F-150 customer.

The site will also show a series of web-based documentaries hosted and narrated by Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. The “jobs” include towing a pair of Sprint Cup Ford Fusions for 24 hours around a 1.5-mile oval track and hauling timber in Oregon.

More pics after the jump.
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The focus on Ford’s stand at the upcoming Paris Motor Show will be the third-generation Focus. Although the Blue Oval has already wheeled out its C-segment global car earlier this year in Detroit, this will be the “formal launch” and the first time that the complete line-up of three “production-ready” bodystyles (five-door hatch, sedan and wagon) will be displayed together. Will we see a slightly different car from the Detroit showstar? September 30 is the date.

The world premiering star of the cast will no doubt be the Focus ST, which is dubbed the “global performance version” of the new Focus. The hot hatchback will be on sale in early 2012, while the rest of the range will debut in Europe and North America by early 2011.

What we know now about the Focus ST is that the range topper (for now) will come with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engine with 247 bhp (250 PS) and “an addictive sound”. Power wise, this puts the ST on equal footing with the Renaultsport Megane 250 and higher than the 223 bhp five-cylinder car it replaces. A six-speed manual is almost a certainty, but will the ST come with a dual-clutch Powershift option?

The old ST was quite subtle in looks, but this new car has gone the other way. A huge “mouth” takes centrestage up front while the rear features a central twin exhaust that’s interestingly shaped. This special launch colour is dramatically called Tangerine Scream.

More pics and a look at the cabin after the jump. Click here to see videos of the Focus at Detroit.
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This writer isn’t the biggest fans of pick-up trucks, but I can’t deny the coolness of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Remember those monster trucks on TV long, long time ago? Here’s one you can own and drive (sadly, only if you’re in the USA), with a 411 bhp 6.2-litre V8 under the hood and a new for 2011 four-door SuperCrew body. There’s now an optional “digital mud” graphic pack too!

The pack consists of matte black graphics – including the F-150 SVT Raptor logo that runs along the hood. The digital mud, a combination of matte and glossy black paint, is splashed across the box side, meant to replicate mud that would be thrown from the truck’s tyres when off road.

“For off-roaders, mud on their truck is a badge of honor. Owners like to show what they have experienced with the amount of mud on their truck. But they also are proud of the condition their truck is in. Digital mud provides the best of both worlds, so even when the truck is clean, it still shows off its true nature,” said Bruce Williams, F-150 SVT Raptor designer.

“When I started looking at off-road racing history for inspiration, I noticed that a lot of Ford Broncos from the 1970s were running matte black hoods to reduce the glare. So it’s a protective graphic that has a functional benefit and ties in with our racing heritage,” he added.

More pics after the jump!
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This is something quite interesting – a Garmin satellite navigation unit that’s integrated into the side of a rear view mirror, offered by Ford to any Ford vehicle except for the Ranger and Ka 2009. GPS instructions are displayed on the touch screen 3.5 inch display integrated into the rear view mirror. The whole system is called the MirrorNavi system and it clips onto your existing rear view mirror. It costs £299 plus local dealer fitting charges in the UK.