The car's interior is neat, business-like. A bespoke electronic control module is located on the transmission tunnel, where it can be accessed by both driver and co-driver. This features basic information, controls for the electronic center differential - the 2006 regs made mechanical front and rear diffs compulsory - and even the indicators. Another button remaps the engine for the road sections, where it's important to save fuel.
The co-driver's footwell also has a foot-operated horn button, but it's not working today. "We disconnected it," says a friendly mechanic. "People tend to kick it when they're not used to the car."
The engine is burbling happily in front of my toes. The road-going ST has a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder turbo engine, similar to that used in Volvo's S40 T5. The rally car, by contrast, uses a version of the 1988cc all-alloy Duratec engine, found elsewhere in the Focus range.
Developed by French engine specialists Pipo Moteur, it's fitted with a Garrett turbocharger and a mandatory 34mm (1.34 inch) inlet restrictor. The latter limits the power output to 300bhp at 6000rpm, which isn't so much in a car that weighs a minimum of 2712 pounds. The peak torque figure of 405lb-ft at 4000rpm is more impressive and offers much more of a clue as to how this car performs.
"Are you OK?" asks Gronholm through the intercom. I grunt in response and we cruise to the start line. The co-driver sits low in the car to optimize the centre of gravity and I'm astonished by how little I can see. Despite being over six feet tall, I find myself having to peer over the top of the fascia if I want to see where we're going. Co-drivers are brave people.
Gronholm squeezes the throttle and we're away. The noise is modest - the cars are limited to 98 decibels - and the acceleration feels less than fearsome. Last year, I rode with rally legend Stig Blomqvist in an old 450bhp Audi S1 (SCC, June 2005, page 80) and its acceleration felt much more savage. The Focus, by comparison, feels soft and controlled.
At speed, Gronholm strikes a familiar pose; he sits high up, with arms bent, eyes staring dead ahead. There is a wonderful economy of movement. He looks cool, relaxed. There's much less drama than in the Fiesta. Each of the five forward gears is selected using a steering wheel-mounted paddle and a shift takes just 50 milliseconds (0.05 sec). With no clutch to play with, his left foot is used only for braking.
The ride is also astonishingly smooth. This is the exact same car in which Gronholm's teammate, Mikko Hirvonen, finished third in the Acropolis Rally and its spring rates are tuned for rough ground. Not since I drove Mitsubishi's Dakar Rally-winning Pajero Evolution have I experienced such extraordinary comfort from something so focused. We crest a brow and jump for what feels like 15 feet, but the landing is soft and measured. Where the Fiesta was crashing and banging, the Focus is gliding.