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Focus STs for SEMA include Lotus and Gulf liveries, rally-fied police car

Ford, as we mentioned on Saturday, is pulling out all the stops for November's SEMA show, bringing 57 vehicles to the Las Vegas event. Ford will be staggering the release of its SEMA flotilla, though, so expect to hear a lot about the new additions to the fleet in the weeks to come. We already showed you the Fiesta, Fiesta ST and Mustang models that made up the first batch of SEMA cars. Next up, we have a quartet of modded Focus STs joining Ford's SEMA roster.
Our first Focus ST (pictured above) sports the legendary livery of Gulf Racing. The orange-on-blue scheme, which Ford helped make famous at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has been updated for 2013, with a more vibrant blue. This ST was built by Universal Technical Institute, while the exterior was done by Neil Tjin of Tjin Edition. Side exhausts, a Vortech supercharger and a Motiv Concepts high-flow cat allow the ST to breathe a bit easier, while Forgestar wheels contrast well with the iconic paint scheme.
Focus ST number two has been done-up by PM Lifestyle and is inspired by "Southern California car culture." Sporting a sleek, pale blue paint job, there's also no shortage of carbon fiber on the car's exterior. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine has been massaged by the likes of Banks Power, COBB Tuning and Ford Racing, while the suspension is wearing a shiny, new set of coilovers and sway bars. The meaty brakes, tucked behind 19-inch, Rotiform wheels, come from Wilwood, while the cabin has been fitted with a pair of Sparco Chrono seats and five-point, Schroth harnesses.

The Stig drives Forza-liveried Ford Focus RS to Gamescom

Auto shows typically present the best opportunities for the public to check out the latest metal the industry has to showcase, but European enthusiasts won't need to wait until Frankfurt or Geneva to see Ford's new performance machinery up close. That's because they'll be able to check out the new Ford GT and Focus RS at the Gamesom expo that opens today in Cologne. But it won't be just any Focus RS, and it won't be driven there by just any old driver. To mark the European debut of Forza Motorsport 6 – whose cover is adorned by the new Ford GT – the Blue Oval automaker has had gamers help design a special livery for the new hot hatch. Wrapped in red, white, and blue with images of the new GT, the unique Focus will be driven by none other than The Stig himself from Top Gear. (Or at least someone in a similar white racing outfit, at any rate.) His Royal Stigness won't have far to go, as Ford's European headquarters are located right there in Cologne (or Koln as the locals call it), less than a half-hour drive down the Rhein river to the Koln Messe where the show will take place. There it'll be showcased alongside the new Ford GT as well, giving gaming fans the chance to check out some very fast Fords up close and personal. Related Video: Aug 4, 2015 | COLOGNE, Germany Ford GT and Gamer-Customised Forza Focus RS to Star During Gamescom; Top Gear's The Stig Helps Unveil One-Off Design - Customised new Focus RS with unique livery designed by players of Forza Motorsport for Xbox unveiled ahead of 2015 Gamescom exhibition in Cologne, Germany - The Stig from BBC's Top Gear drives Forza Focus RS to pre-show event - Visitors to Gamescom – Europe's largest interactive games trade fair – will also see all-new Ford GT supercar on show COLOGNE, Germany, Aug. 4, 2015 – A unique all-new Ford Focus RS featuring an exterior designed by players of Forza Motorsport for Xbox was unveiled today at a special Microsoft event, ahead of the international 2015 Gamescom event in Cologne. The special Forza Focus RS was driven to the event – and accompanied during the evening – by the Stig from BBC's Top Gear, who will feature in the new Forza Motorsport 6 game for the Microsoft Xbox One console. The all-new Focus RS is the third generation of Focus RS cars, following models launched in 2002 and 2009.

Ford reveals new rapid prototyping and low-volume production techniques [w/video]

It's called "F3T," and that stands for Ford Free-form Fabrication Technology. The process that The Blue Oval has developed means being able to sidestep the weeks-long process of tool-and-die making when engineers want to construct a new part, allowing them to fabricate a three-dimensional part from a two-dimensional sheet of metal in just hours.
While F3T is being developed it is limited to "low-volume prototyping or even low-volume niche vehicles," but the next step is to evaluate it for use in Ford's global manufacturing facilities. You can find out more about it in the video and the press release below.