2017 SEMA show, this was our first year building for Ford Motor Company.
Just to give you an idea, Ford is THE biggest sponsor of the SEMA show, Ford has the largest booth in the most prominent location in the central hall as well as having "Ford Out Front" where spectators can ride along with Vaughn Gittin Jr., Ken Block and other Ford Racing drivers.
To be able to build for the Ford Booth is one of the major goals for many SEMA car builders and in 2017 BTR was granted the opportunity many companies only dream about.
One of the managers leading the Ford Booth setup saw what we did in 2015 with the Veloster Turbo for Hyundai, then also followed up with us in 2016 when we did the EVO X for Enkei. Then in 2017 we were given the green light to show off our design language with the Ford Focus ST
Ford is very involved when it comes to the overall theme/design, sometimes even down to the type of accessories we use in our builds. As much as it was great to have free reign before with Hyundai, it was also a great experience working with Ford's design team and accessories team to make sure our build was up to par with what Ford wanted the car to represent and show off.
I mean can you imagine talking to the same people that was leading the design project for the Ford GT? and having them give you inputs on what they want out of the builds? It wasn't an annoyance, it was an honor to work with people like that.
So on to the car. Ford wanted us to build a lifestyle themed vehicle. So what we did was combine weekend motorsports with photo/videography. At the time of building this, there was "first name, last name Photography" popping up every where on facebook and instagram. People were going crazy with buying DSLR's and starting up photo and video companies even if it was for a hobby.
As you can see, the car has a very special paint job. The color is a mid night purple III from the Nissan R34 GT-R. And we didn't even realize this when we decided to do this color but BASF had to get part of the paint material from their European division as this color was never before available in the US.
Wide body kit coupled with Rally Armor Splitter Kit and Spoiler, 3 piece custom forged B-Forged 768SL wheels airred down on Air Lift Performance Suspension. Roof rack held a heli pad for a drone, inside the rear hatch was a photography equipment organizer built into the spare tire well.
Interior set up with Sabelt racing seats, steering wheel and harness. Autopower 4 point roll cage and even had a mini projector that shot out through the front windshield onto any blank wall. This allowed you to watch footage from your drone right from your seat~!. (obviously, you shouldn't drive with the projector on!)
The power output was upped with Full Race Turbo Kit with the Borg Warner EFR 7163 Turbo putting down 400 whp. Coupled with the Ford Performance Borla Exhaust, Ford Performance Short Throw Shifter, Mishimoto Radiator, Coolant Reservoir. Pierce Motorsports provided us with underbracing to stiffen up the chassis and Toyo Tires T1 Sport tires helped put the power to the ground and Wilwood brakes made sure stopping power was there as well.
This vehicle also was featured in the Ford Motor Company's booth in the Chicago Auto Show. It definitely brought in the crowd and turned a lot of heads, although the general public sometimes really do have bad manners around cars at the Auto show, thankfully we received the vehicle back with no significant damage after the show.