Ford Focus RS gallery
The mk2 Ford Focus RS revealed in all its road-going glory
The production version of the highly-anticipated Ford Focus RS has been unveiled. It’s Performance Blue road-ready car barely differs from the concept car unveiled back in July at the British motor show (in Ultimate Green, below) but the hue of the car here does hark back nicely to Escort Cossies and the mk1 Focus RS.
The all-new 296bhp, 325lb ft hot hatch is set to hit 62mph in 5.9sec and onto a top speed of 161mph, although 164 has been touted after a leak by Ford of Austria. Whether a 155mph limiter reins all that in remains to be seen. Prices should kick off at around £25k, pointing the Focus directly at an unlikely rival in the shape of VW’s hot Scirocco.
The car will gain upgraded springs, dampers and anti-roll bars over its Focus ST sibling as well as well as a torque-biasing Quaife limited-slip diff that's apparently much improved over that of the mk1 Focus RS.
And while just-shy of 300bhp through the front wheels sounds more than a tad loony, Ford has introduced 'RevoKnuckle' - suspension technology that aims to put all of that power down progressively and rule out torque-steer. A similar system is used in the Renaultsport Megane and Clio, where there's an independent steering axis with lower offset between steering axis and wheel centre. The Focus also gets a wider track and its own version of Ford's ESP system.
The man responsible for the Focus RS’s development, Jost Capito (pictured with the car below) has been promoted to Ford’s global director of performance vehicles and motorsport, hinting at the abilities of the car you see here.
Colour options on the RS amount to Ultimate Green, Performance Blue and Frozen White, with matching blue or green interiors coming as standard with the option of decking out the insides in some nice black leather (pictured). The majority of the 1500 orders so far have been for the Kermit-inspired car.
The new Ford Focus RS goes on sale next spring, and despite the impressive stats, it faces a tough job dethroning the Megane R26.R as our favourite hot hatch. An exciting battle awaits, though...
