Ford’s most extreme car barring the GT supercar has made its Down Under debut, and despite its $50,990 price tag, it undercuts the previous generation model and offers performance that can rival performance cars twice its price. Bargain?
The Blue Oval does seem to think so, and while it’s debatable whether it is the most extreme Ford you can get given the presence of the Mustang GT and its thumping 5.0-litre V8, the new all-wheel drive Focus RS is, as the name implies, a much more focused machine in contrast to the Mustang’s unabashed sledgehammer-like approach.
It’s the 30th vehicle the wear the Ford RS or “Rallye Sport” badge, with some comparing its release to be as much a watershed moment in the marque’s history as the equally all-wheel driven Escort RS Cosworth of the early 90s.
As Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development for the Ford Motor Company, said: “The all-new Focus RS is a very serious machine with high-performance technology and innovative engineering that sets a new benchmark for driving exhilaration. The RS line has a proud history of technical breakthroughs that have gone on to benefit all Ford customers, and the new Focus RS is no exception.”
On its local release, Graeme Whickman, CEO and President, Ford of Australia, said: “The Focus RS sees the return of one of our most revered models. It builds on our showroom appeal of models including the Focus ST and Fiesta ST, XR Sprint Falcons as well as the hugely popular Mustang.”
Designed from tip to tail as a driver’s car (however curiously only available as a 5-door), the new Focus RS is powered by a 2.3-litre EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine. But unlike the similar unit in the base Mustang, the motor now develops 257kW and 440Nm (470Nm overboost) – an increase of 24kW and 8Nm – and enabling a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.6 seconds.
All that power in such a compact body already gives the Focus RS inherently superb performance, but is reined in by its advanced all-wheel drive system with Dynamic Torque Vectoring which can shuffle power not only between the front and rear axles but also between left and right tyres for the utmost amount of traction.
The Focus RS also is offered with four selectable drive modes (Normal, Sport, Track, and Drift), each one altering steering, stability control, engine response and exhaust parameters to deliver driving characteristics to suite different conditions. The dampers are also adjustable and can either be dictated by the aforementioned drive modes or overridden manually by the driver.
Inside, the Focus RS comes standard with body-hugging Recaro sport bucket seats upholstered in leather. The blue accented trim sets it apart from the rest of Focus family but doesn’t degrade from its quality feel.
Ford is manufacturing the Focus RS exclusively at its plant in Saarlouis, Germany, and the first batch of 300 vehicles has already been snatched up. Ford Australia, however, is working on acquiring more.
For more on Ford vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
