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John Coletti is vice president in charge of the Fountain of Youth at Ford Motor Co.

As director of Ford’s Special Vehicle Team, or SVT, he heads the gang that for 10 years has been entrusted with creating high-performance renditions of vehicles to make them more appealing to the young and young at heart.

The SVT takes vehicles waiting for an update–such as Mustang–or vehicles that made a splash but began to sink–such as Focus–and comes up with limited-edition, performance versions to renew interest in the machines.

Focus began life in the 2000 model year as the successor to the compact Escort, Ford’s low-price, high-mileage economy car. Focus is a world car, a vehicle for any market that Ford participates in, not just the U.S.

In 2000, its first year on the market, Focus sold 286,000 copies and placed in the Top 10 among vehicle sales. But in ’01, the second year, sales slipped to 265,000, and Focus fell out of the Top 10.

One reason for the sales decline is that Ford opened the treasury to promote the Focus for year one and then, as Ford often does with a new car, let Focus fend for itself. Also, small-car sales haven’t been very strong, with folks opting for small sport-utility vehicles instead, just like they’ve chosen big SUVs over big cars.

But more important, Focus was plagued by recalls: six in the first year, two in the second.

The recalls ranged from 8,500 owners notified to bring their cars in to the dealer to check for a faulty tension spring that could fail to hold the seat back up, to 275,000 recalled to install more padding in the A pillars where roof meets windshield to satisfy the federal standard for cabin protection, to 23,000 recalled because corrosion could cause the throttle assembly to stick and not move back to idle speed.

“We’re still suffering a bit of a hangover with the Focus,” one insider confided. “There’s a lag time between the perception of quality problems and being able to demonstrate that you’ve solved the problems. The recalls and the perception of quality hurt.”

SVT came to the rescue to help take minds off recalls, though in an interview, Coletti insists the SVT mission, as it was all along, is to attract more buyers into the Ford camp who might choose to re-enlist later.

Ironically, just before the ’02 SVT Focus was to go on sale, another throttle body problem was found at the factory in final inspection. Though only 569 cars were effected and a handful had been shipped to dealers, an unknown number had gotten to consumers so a recall was issued.

Coletti said the main reason for the SVT is that “it gives us a shot at younger buyers and a big and growing market for 4-cylinder performance cars, a monster market over the next five to 10 years that now is 90 percent owned by Honda. But early SVT sales show that nearly 80 percent of our buyers are conquests, people who wouldn’t have considered a Ford if it wasn’t for the S VT Focus.”

Focus has done as hoped in attracting youth into small cars, with an average buyer age of 41, same as the Honda Civic and a year less than the average of 42 for all small car buyers. But it also has attracted folks 40 to 60 who said they would have shopped Honda or Toyota for a small car if it weren’t for the performance SVT, said Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer.

We tested the ’02 SVT Focus coupe. Ford will add a four-door version this fall “for those who have seen the coupe and want the car, but say they need more doors,” Coletti said.

While the Focus SVT caters to youth looking for a small, low-cost car, it is strictly for those who have mastered a manual transmission because it comes with 6-speed only.

“If we were going for volume, we’d have to add an automatic. But the manual fits well with enthusiasts. And with an automatic, Focus wouldn’t feel as spry as it does between 4,000 to 7,000 r.p.m.,” Coletti said.

The 6-speed is user-frie ly with smooth shift lever/pedal movement. Youth–any age–who hasn’t mastered manual will find this a willing teacher.

To appreciate the SVT Focus, keep in mind this is a higher performance version of the Ford’s high-mileage car.

The SVT Focus delivers a little more energy with a powerplant achieving 170-horsepower, up from 130 h.p. in the regular 2-liter, 4-cylinder, while increasing torque to 145 from 135 foot-pounds. The 4-cylinder delivers excellent fuel economy at 25 m.p.g. city/34 m.p.g. highway, but the gauge in the instrument panel advises you use premium unleaded.

The 2-liter has the spunk the base engine lacks, but when you need a power burst, best to downshift then kick the pedal.

The SVT Focus also delivers a little better handling than the basic economy coupe thanks to tweaks to the sports-tuned suspension and the addition of 17-inch radial tires designed for improved road grip as well as directional stability.

Don’t expect to corner like in a Mustang SVT but don’t expect to linger and lean like in a regular Focus coupe.

What you get is a Focus with a little sass.

To set the styling apart from the regular Focus coupe, there’s a honeycomb grille upfront and an SVT badge on the hatch lid. Other than that and the 17-inch radials, the exterior isn’t radically different. Inside, metal pedals and an aluminum cap on the gear shift lever are the SVT telltales–with the aluminum cap a special telltale we’ll note later.

Because it is a hatchback, the SVT allows you to easily pile stuff in the back rather than fight the front seats to pack the back seat. With the arrival of the four-door, you’ll be able to pile stuff and people in back. That will be nice.

Ford insists Focus is making progress on quality, with a 24 percent improvement in squeaks and rattles and an 18 percent reduction in wind noise. Only problem we encountered was a rear window wiper that functioned 24/7 despite pressing, pulling, turning, dialing and yanking every button, knob, dial and lever.

Oh, and as for that aluminum cap on the gearshift lever. Don’t, repeat, don’t park your SVT in the sun and expect to hop in, turn the key, grab the lever and go. If you don’t park in the shade or put a cover over that metal cap, your hand will read: R-1-2-3-4-5-6 until medicated.

Base price: $17,480. Major standard equipment includes anti-lock brakes, front- and side-impact air bags, AM/FM stereo with single-disc CD player, power windows/locks/mirrors, air conditioning, rear window defroster, cruise control and floor mats. The driver’s seat has power up/down movement, but manual fore and aft control. Noteworthy options: a winter package with traction control, heated seats and engine block heater at $395 and power moonroof at $595.

Ford is counting on sales of 6,000 SVTs this year and 12,000 next year with the addition of the four-door.