Ford Motor Company (F)

Ford Motor Company’s high-performance division, Special Vehicle Team (SVT), is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, which includes the Special Vehicle Team Owners Association’s (SVTOA) annual “SVT Superfest” at the world-class Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va., over Memorial Day Weekend.

2013 252 HP Ford Focus ST (Photo: Business Wire)

Ford Motor Company will be on-site throughout the weekend with some historic and truly “special” vehicles produced through the years. Attendees who come by the Ford booth will get a first-hand look at the “snake” that started it all, the 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra R, as well as SVT’s 2002 Focus and the Lighting Bolt Ranger prototype.

“We’re excited to bring a few monumental SVT vehicles that represent our rich performance history,” said Jim Owens, marketing manager at Ford Motor Company. “But the real rock stars of Superfest will be the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500, Boss 302 Mustang and Focus ST.”

Taking place May 25-27, this high-octane event will feature three track days open to members of the SVT Cobra Mustang Club, SVTOA or Track Club USA. Other exciting events include the SVT, Mustang and Ford Show, a Friday night social cookout and a banquet on Saturday night. Attendees without a Ford vehicle to race on the track can still fulfill their need for adrenaline filled activities with go-kart racing, skeet shooting and much more.

Ford’s SVT group officially debuted its first two vehicles at the 1992 Chicago Auto Show with the 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra and SVT F-150 Lightning. The highest output pony car of the time, the 1993 SVT Cobra Mustang featured a 235 horsepower 5.0 liter V8.

“The SVT group has the unique ability to connect innovative ideas born in the ‘skunk works’ department into practical, record crushing performance machines,” added Owens. “Their ability to push the envelope has resulted in amazing cars that have altered the performance landscape. I can’t think of any other American auto manufacturer that’s had the impact on balanced performance than Ford Motor Company and SVT.”

Over the years, the SVT group has been involved in some of the most important performance cars in the world. Producing more than 210,000 cars and trucks, the impressive list includes the Ford GT, Cobra Mustang R, SVT F-150 Lightning, Shelby GT500KR, SVT Focus and F-150 SVT Raptor.

From that original 235 HP SVT Mustang, the SVT group has made significant strides. In Nov. 2011, Ford, SVT and Carroll Shelby unveiled the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 with a newly engineered 5.8 liter supercharged V8 that produces a staggering 662 horsepower and 631 lb.-ft. of torque. This makes the new GT500 the most powerful pre-title production V8 in the world, demonstrating just how far SVT products have come in the last 20 years.

On the other end of the performance spectrum, Ford recently introduced its Focus ST, which the SVT group helped engineer. This amazing piece of technology features a 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine with direct injection, variable intake and exhaust timing and center-exit exhaust pipes. Ford gave this feisty racer 18 inch wheels with summer compound tires, a variable ratio steering rack and put in a six-speed manual transmission for added performance.

“We hope everyone can make it out to see these phenomenal SVT and Ford vehicles in action and on display,” said Steve Ling, North America Car Marketing Manager at Ford. “The SVT SuperFest will be the first time our 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 supercar, as well as the hot Focus ST, will appear in Virginia. The most gratifying reward is to see all the historic SVT cars built during the past two decades being enjoyed. That inspires us for the next twenty years.”

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 164,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.

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