In 1966, the Circuit de la Sarthe erupted with American pride as the Le Mans 24hr ended with three Fords on the podium. In the closest ever running of the world famous endurance race, the Ford GT40 of New Zealanders Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon was involved in a photo finish with the Ford GT40 of Britain's Ken Miles and New Zealand's Denis Hulme. The McLaren/Amon car was declared the winner after it started the race a few places behind its rival on the grid and so covered the greater distance in the allotted time. The winning car on this illustrious day for Ford motorsport featured distinctive black bodywork with silver stripes, livery that is reprised today by the Ford Focus ST500.

The ST500 is a swansong for the original shape Ford Focus ST performance hatchback. When this car was announced, a facelifted version of the Focus had already been unveiled so an ST version sporting those revisions was inevitable. In that respect then, the ST500 represents that last of its particular kind but this Focus ST isn't a bad kind to be the last of. With just 500 models being produced, the ST500 offers extra exclusivity over normal ST models and the £20,495 asking price gives it a fierce competitive edge to match its hostile performance.

At around £20,500, the ST500 doesn't immediately strike you as a nailed down bargain. The car, however, isn't based on the standard ST model that can be yours for under £19,000, it gets its specification straight from the range-topping ST-3 derivative. That car starts at £20,595 and not only gets items like the ST's 18" alloy wheels and sports bodykit, it has the ST-2's Sony CD stereo, Quickclear windscreen and bi-xenon headlamps. To that little lot, it adds a 6 CD autochanger and full leather heated Recaro sports seats.

"The Focus ST has always been one of the more extrovert hot hatchbacks"

It's a well-specified car but the ST500 goes further. Not only do buyers get that evocative black paintwork with silver bonnet and roof stripes, they're also on the receiving end of scarlet red leather for their Recaro sports seats. It all goes to make the ST500 quite an eye-catcher and while the racy colour schemes won't be to everyone's taste, they certainly help the car stand out.

The GT40s that secured Ford's 1-2-3 triumph at Le Mans were running 7.0-litre V8 engines but the ST500 employs a more reasonable 2.5-litre turbocharged unit. It might lack the V8 thunder but there's character there and, by hot hatchback standards, quite a bit of performance. The 222bhp peak power output is achieved at 6,100rpm but there's real fun in getting there. The 5-cylinder engine feels seriously muscular from low in the rev range thanks to the 320Nm maximum torque being available at just 1,600rpm.

It's a hot hatch that flatters the average driver and rewards those with a few more tools in their locker. So many seriously powerful GTi hatches feel as if they have a little too much power but the chassis of the Focus is so talented and the engine so tractable that it always feels a class act. Having clocked up quite a few miles in the Focus RS, I was initially worried that the ST would be a little soft in the belly. Over the first couple of miles I wasn't feeling much love for the steering, the electrically assisted system offering too much help. I then discovered that it's possible, via the car's computer, to change the weighting. I was on a Comfort setting. Notch it up to Sport, grab the thick-rimmed wheel and you've got a car that loves to be thrown at corners.

Catch it off guard and the car can feel slightly nose heavy, that five-cylinder 222bhp turbo engine being quite a hunk of metalwork, but traction is so good that when you get it right, the Focus just slingshots out of a bend with no drama, very little in the way of torque steer and one of the most infectious engine notes around. Despite offering a broadly similar turbocharged power output to the original Focus RS and having drive directed to the front wheels like the Focus RS, Ford insiders claim the latest ST will demolish the RS's time around the Nurburgring by a full twelve seconds, courtesy of its superior cornering ability and improved torque. I can believe it. The sprint to 60mph takes just over six seconds and a top speed in the region of 150mph will be more than adequate. Wet traction off the line isn't the greatest but lateral grip is superb.

Underneath all the sporty paraphernalia on the ST500, you've got one of the market's finest hot hatchbacks and this helps make the ST a pleasantly easy car to live with day to day. The rear bench is moulded into two separate berths so carrying three in the rear isn't really an option but space is far from stingy even with the bulky Recaro seats installed. The boot too is a bit of a whopper with its utility maximised by the folding rear seat backs.

You could certainly get away with the Focus as a family car, assuming you can live with its less than parsimonious approach to fuel consumption. There's bound to be a drawback to all that performance and engaging handling but 30mpg will be tough for some buyers to bear and you'll be lucky to achieve that if you drive like the ST500 constantly encourages you to.

The Ford Focus ST500 is the swansong for one of the finest hot hatchbacks we've seen. The facelifted Focus ST will be largely the same with a smarter set of clothes but the ST500 represents your last chance to own the car in its original form. The Focus ST has always been one of the more extrovert hot hatchbacks and the ST500 doesn't shy away from this. The aggressive looks won't be to everyone's taste and neither will the running costs but buyers will get a high quality performance hatch with a little bit of history thrown in.