Ford Focus RS

[dbk]

Man do I want one of these to whip around town in. Sigh.

These are the first official pictures of the new Ford Focus RS hatchback, the second Focus to carry the badge in an RS story that began in Germany in the late 1960s but really came to life with the launch in 1970 of the Escort RS1600.

The new Focus is the most powerful road-going Ford RS model ever, its turbocharged 2.5-litre inline engine developing around 222kW, or a touch this side of 300bhp, through the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Torque is 410Nm.

Power output is about 36kW (50bhp) more than the 186kW Mazda MPS, the most powerful front-drive hatchback on the market in New Zealand. The anniversary model of the front-drive Volkswagen Golf GTi produces 200kW; the standard Golf GTi delivers 150kW.

Ford engineers claim the new RS will sprint from 0-100km/h in around 5.5s and on to a top speed of 250km/h. The key to channelling all that oomph, say Ford engineers, is a specially developed front suspension and limited-slip differential.
Ford looked at doing an all-wheel-drive evolution to distribute power to all four corners but abandoned the plan as it would add too much weight and bump up the price.

Jost Capito, Ford of Europe's performance guru, headed development. "We want the new Focus RS to be a serious high-performance car, as much a car for driving enthusiasts as the one before it and classic Ford RS models of the past," he said.
"We're staying true to the core RS principles of an exciting yet affordable performance road car you can live with every day."

The Focus RS gets an innovative front suspension system known as a RevoKnuckle, which is designed to reduce steering disturbance and torque steer, the impact of torque in front wheel-driven vehicles.

Torque steer occurs during hard acceleration, cornering or driving on uneven surfaces, when torque on the driven wheels exceeds grips levels. It is characterised by sudden turning force on the steering wheel.

In Focus RS, the RevoKnuckle works in conjunction with a Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing limited-slip differential. Ford engineers worked with Ford's Advanced Research Centre in Aachen, Germany, to develop the RevoKnuckle technology.

Engineers say it allows the simplicity of a traditional McPherson strut arrangement but with settings that minimise steering disturbances and torque steer.
"The Ford Focus is an excellent base for a high-performance car - agile, responsive and stable," said Capito.

"We studied at length how best to enhance these qualities for a high-performance model. Our work has shown that our approach in combining a tuned RevoKnuckle with the Quaife differential is an ideal solution for a high-performance front-wheel-drive road car like Focus RS."

The vehicle is finished in a special bright green paint with inlaid metallic flake, a modern interpretation of the 1970s Le Mans Green of the Escort RS1600.
There are also wider wheel arches and a wider track, plus triangular, RS-badged vents on the flanks. Two classic-style bonnet louvres are both a styling hint at the power beneath and a practical requirement, maintaining correct system temperatures.

The new front bumper design for Focus RS incorporates a deep front airdam with a large, mesh lower grille finished in piano black.

Ford says the prominent feature represents the latest Ford "kinetic design" face. Above, chromed xenon headlamps are framed by matt-black housings with additional vents running underneath.

At the rear, a black RS spoiler sits at the roofline, echoing both RS models of the past and the World Rally-winning Focus WRC that has been its inspiration.

 

[Empty Pockets]

"Europe only" I presume?

 

[kmillen]

The Ford Focus in New Zealand is a really nice car. Whenever we go down for the Targa rally Ford NZ loans us one for the week and they are great little cars.

 

[S592R]

would be a killer US car .... that means its definitely staying in EU only. :frown

Still miffed about the S-Max ... :rofl

 

[Cobrar]

It's a beauty. Leverages the global "Ford parts bin" with the detuned S60R Volvo powertrain. I'll take one on the new Ford EU delivery plan :wink, and ship it back here when the trip is done! Just a bit less definition in the fender flairs please!

 

[djs]

Sign me up if it's available in the U.S.
My brother recently bought the MazdaSpeed 3 hatch. Loves it, goes like scat, great fuel mileage if he keeps his foot off the loud pedal, and can carry a ton of stuff. What I don't understnand is, if Ford owns a sizable portion of Mazda, why they don't rebadge/retool a little and sell the thing with an SVT
nameplate on it. I have to believe it would be a big hit.

 

[kmillen]

Sign me up if it's available in the U.S.
My brother recently bought the MazdaSpeed 3 hatch. Loves it, goes like scat, great fuel mileage if he keeps his foot off the loud pedal, and can carry a ton of stuff. What I don't understnand is, if Ford owns a sizable portion of Mazda, why they don't rebadge/retool a little and sell the thing with an SVT
nameplate on it. I have to believe it would be a big hit.

I'm not sure if the Mazdaspeed 3 is the same case but I know that the Mazdaspeed 6 is what they base the Ford Fusion on. I like the Fusion but it can't compare to a turbo charged AWD Mazdaspeed 6.

I agree, Ford should be rebadging some of Mazda's more exciting cars. Let Mazda keep the rotary's but jump on board with some of the fun cars.

 

[fordcapri]

I can confirm Ford RSs are great cars. I have been buying them since my first one RS 3100 Capri in 1973 right up until the last Focus RS, but I fell out with Ford as they would not sell me a GT and I said to myself that I would never buy another RS. Perhaps looking at these pictures I might retract that statement and buy this vehicle. A couple of facts about the vehicle, they intend to build about 9,000 over the next couple of years, and it would only be sold in Europe, and I have been told by a good source that it has been lapping Nurburgring in 8min 17sec

 

[djs]

For the life of me I don't understand why Ford doesn't import this car. I know there are probably certification issues, but I have to believe many of the EPA headaches are not what they were 10 years ago. Maybe it's just crash test stuff, but still, I think Ford could sell a bunch of these hot little numbers in a minute. What a shame.