America. It’s a country filled with pickup trucks and muscle cars. The second a high-performance model rolls off of a dealership’s lot, many times it will soon wind up in a garage to receive engine, exhaust, and/or suspension enhancements. Despite this country’s love of horsepower, sometimes its affection goes unrequited and hot European models don’t make the trip across the Atlantic.
For years, the rally-racing-derived Ford Focus RS used to be one of those cars. It makes sense that it isn’t any more. These days, you can get 707 horsepower in a coupe for less than $70,000, so hot hatches need to get even hotter. However, it’s not enough for the Focus RS to have 350 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque; it needs a chassis and suspension that can handle that kind of output and put it to the road in a way that’s satisfying to skilled drivers and flattering to those with less experience.
That means consulting Gymkhana star Ken Block and having him sort out and hone the RS’s road and track dynamics. He knows a thing or two about them. In fact, as part of his contract with Ford, he requested a second-generation RS for his personal use. Over the course of a series of videos, Ford will showcase what Block’s learned and what it’s learned that will make this RS (hopefully) the best one yet.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
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