For Just Two Short Years, Saleen Would Sell You A New Ford Focus With A Freaking Nitrous Kit

It’s sometime in the mid-2000s, and you just rented “The Fast And The Furious” from Blockbuster for the 137th time. As that scene in Harry’s shop rolls around, you repeat the immortal line that defined an era, “I need NOS.” Well, if you needed nitrous oxide on your new car in the mid-2000s, you could void the warranty and slap on an aftermarket kit, or you could go to a Saleen dealership and order a Focus N2O. That’s right, it’s a Focus with a nitrous kit, pretty much ready to hit the streets.

If you were into performance cars in the ’90s and 2000s, you’re probably familiar with the name Saleen. While founder Steve Saleen initially made his name as a Formula Atlantic and Trans Am racer, these days he’s known more for his work on high-output Ford-powered tuner cars including the lineage of Saleen Mustangs. These fuel-injected American hot rods were so renowned for their speed and reliability that many Ford dealers signed up to distribute Saleen cars, meaning you may have been able to buy a Saleen Mustang from the same place selling diesel F-250s.

As the Saleen reputation grew, the firm branched out into other niches including the XP8 Explorer and the bonkers Saleen S7 supercar. Eventually, Saleen became a tier-one OEM supplier, partially responsible for assembly of the iconic V8-powered Ford GT. In 2007, things went a bit sideways when Steve Saleen resigned from the company bearing his namesake, but Saleen had one hell of a run up until then, and the Focus N2O was arguably its weirdest car.

On the face of things, the Saleen Focus N2O was heavy on the show, with an almost comically over-the-top full body kit including fender flares, a bi-plane rear wing, and a hood scoop that seemingly didn’t serve a practical purpose. Hey, it was the style of the time. How many regular late-’90s Civics with massive body kits and stock 106-horsepower D16Y7 engines did you see back in the day? Speaking of visual add-ons, the Focus N2O also came with some perfectly cheesy graphics, a center-exit exhaust, and most came with a set of Saleen’s own 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires. Wild how 17-inch wheels used to look massive on compact cars.

In fairness, some upgrades were made to the Focus N2O’s handling, namely new dampers, springs, and anti-roll bars. For an extra fee, you could even spec four-piston front calipers and larger 13-inch front brake discs, although drums were mandatory in the rear. Sport seats held the driver and front passenger in place, and a short shifter added to engagement, but the big draw of the Saleen Focus N2O was a nitrous oxide system already installed in the car, just not quite plumbed in.

When used outside of medical purposes, nitrous oxide can act as a powerful horsepower aid due to how it decomposes. Once it goes from a liquid state in a tank to a gaseous state in an intake manifold, each mole breaks down into one mole of nitrogen and half a mole of oxygen, resulting in an oxygen concentration just north of 36 percent. About 21 percent of the air we breathe is oxygen, and more oxygen plus more fuel plus a spark equals more power.

See, without any of the go-fast gear plumbed in, the Saleen Focus N2O was basically a standard ZX3 PZEV hatchback with a flash tune that bumped horsepower from 145 to 152, and torque from 149 lb.-ft. to 155 lb.-ft. Although torquey, not only was peak horsepower down 18 horsepower over Ford’s own SVT Focus, it also didn’t outmuscle the 160-horsepower Honda Civic Si and 180-horsepower Volkswagen GTI 1.8T of the era. However, once the 75-horsepower wet shot nitrous oxide system in the Saleen Focus N2O was hooked up, things changed dramatically, as Sport Compact Car magazine found out during testing.

Without the spray this car is slow. Its engine is smooth and surprisingly torquey around town, but it’s slow. Even slamming through the Saleen’s five-speed manual (a four-speed automatic is optional) like Dick Landy doesn’t help. Nitrous off we recorded a zero-to-60 time of 8.2 seconds and a quarter-mile pass of 16.1 at 84.3 mph. Juice on, things improved righteously, however. Our best time was a 14.6-second pass at 95.6 mph. Zero to 60 improved almost two full seconds to 6.3.

Now that’s cooking with gas. Assuming a full 10-pound nitrous oxide bottle and a good launch, the Saleen Focus N2O could out-sprint the Civic Si, the Volkswagen GTI 1.8T, and Ford’s own SVT Focus, if only for a limited amount of time. Given that Sport Compact Car dyno tested the Focus N2O and found it put down 198 horsepower and 226 lb.-ft. of torque at the wheels with the nitrous oxide going, those acceleration figures make a ton of sense.

Curiously, for 2005, the Saleen Focus N2O grew a bit weaker, with a decrease in displacement to two liters and a slight decrease in pre-nitrous oxide power to 150 horsepower and 150 lb.-ft. of torque. However, the final drive ratio jumped up from 3.41:1 to 3.82:1, theoretically resulting in greater torque multiplication at the expense of more frequent shifts, higher engine speed while cruising, and a lower theoretical top speed.

While the powertrain switch-up was arguably a wash, there were some definite downsides to the Saleen Focus N2O. Not only does a limited supply of nitrous oxide make for limited fun, actually running the nitrous system would have an effect on the warranty, and the vehicle itself was wildly expensive. A 2004 Honda Civic Si stickered for $19,070, a 2004 Volkswagen GTI 1.8T retailed for $19,250, and a 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V listed for $17,300. The Saleen Focus N2O? It went for a whopping $25,999. That’s more than what a Mustang GT cost in 2004.

As a result, production volumes were limited to say the least. While exact production numbers are elusive given Saleen’s unusual practice of only sometimes re-using sequential serial numbers of canceled orders, the general consensus is that fewer than 200 were made between 2004 and 2005. Given how 2000s tuner cars were often thrashed to death over the course of several owners, you wouldn’t expect many Focus N2O examples to survive, but they’ve largely bucked that trend.

Perhaps due in part to Saleen’s status, a surprising number of these nitrous oxide-equipped Focuses have survived, and some have ended up on internet auction sites. Check out this 2005 Saleen Focus N2O that just sold on Cars & Bids for a mere $7,200. This one’s racked up a surprising 109,300 miles over the past two decades, although the southwest climate has been relatively kind to it. What’s more, it’s only had two owners since new, and although it did suffer a hit on the Carfax in 2014, at least the paint match seems alright.

Likewise, this 2004 model sold on Bring A Trailer two years ago, and it seems really well-kept. Sure, a price tag of $10,250 seems high now, but not only were enthusiast car prices higher in 2023 than they are now, this one’s covered just 61,000 miles. For the right person two years ago, this thing was a score.

The list of cars you could buy directly from dealerships already equipped with nitrous oxide systems is microscopic, but the Saleen Focus N20 is America’s most famous contribution to that list. It’s a telling example of just how bonkers the tuning scene in the 2000s was, and a reminder of the heyday of sport compact culture.

Top graphic images: Saleen; Holley Performance Brands

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