Ford Focus ST in Film Star Role at The Goodwood Festival of Speed in UK

BRENTWOOD, United Kingdom -- March, 16: Ford's first global performance car is previewing its starring role in new film blockbuster The Sweeney at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer.

Stunt drivers will take the place of famous Flying Squad detectives Jack Regan and George Carter as their black Ford Focus ST is pitted against a Jaguar XFR up the famous Goodwood hillclimb in an exciting chase sequence to whet the appetite ahead of the movie’s release in September.

Ford has been a major sponsor of the Goodwood Festival of Speed since its inception in 1993 and it is again supporting this prestigious event over the weekend of June 29-July 1, 2012. The Festival of Speed is Europe's premier historic motor sporting event – a combination of hillclimb, rally stage, garden party, and motor show, all in the grounds of Goodwood House, the Earl of March's ancestral home in West Sussex.

Ford Focus ST takes centre stage

In October 2011, special Ford Focus ST prototypes were secretly delivered to The Sweeney set, joining Ford Mondeo, Galaxy and Transit models also being used by the cast as unmarked Flying Squad vehicles.

Director and co-writer, Nick Love, whose prior films include The Football Factory and The Firm, said: "It was important for me to collaborate with Ford on The Sweeney as their legacy with the original TV show is so strong – they're the perfect partner. I like the Ford Focus ST so much, I want one!"

Ford's strong link with the 1970s Sweeney TV series saw Regan, Carter and their Flying Squad colleagues using a string of Ford Granada, Consul and Cortina models to make the streets of London a safer place.

Production Companies Vertigo and Embargo Films, used six Ford Focus ST models during filming. Set in modern day Britain, The Sweeney stars Ray Winstone as Jack Regan and Ben Drew (aka Plan B) as George Carter and also features Hayley Atwell (from Captain America), Damian Lewis (Homeland), Steven Mackintosh (Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans) and Paul Anderson (The Firm).

The Sweeney will be released in the UK in September.

Ford at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Ford's motorsport heritage is unparalleled: there were successful Model Ts in motor racing in the 1920s, Ford V8s won the Monte Carlo rally in the 1930s, and since the 1950s Ford has always been prominent in racing and rallying, often with specially-developed cars like the Le Mans winning GT40s, the Escort RS1600 and RS1800, the RS200, the Sierra RS500 Cosworth, and racing Mondeos. Ford-powered cars from all around the world will be reflecting this heritage at the Festival of Speed.

Visitors to Goodwood will see an astonishing variety of famous Fords, including those located on the Ford stands at the entrance to the festival and the main exhibition site inside the hillclimb track. Prominent in these displays, as well as on the Goodwood hillclimb, will be the Ford Focus ST with its powerful 2.0-litre 250PS four-cylinder EcoBoost engine.

The new Ford Focus ST goes on sale in 40 countries this year and was shown in final production-ready form at the Geneva motor show this month.