It’s hard to know where to start when describing the all-new 155mph ‘sub £25k’ Ford Focus RS, for although it may not go on sale until the spring of 2009 this won’t prevent it from stealing most of the headlines at this month’s London Motorshow.
The main technical points are as follows: sub £25k price, 295bhp, 302lb ft of torque, front-wheel drive with a Quaife limited slip diff. Zero to 60mph will take ‘less than six seconds’, the top speed will be limited to 155mph and zero to 100mph will take something between 12-13sec.
According to its creators the forthcoming Focus RS will rocket straight to the top of its class on performance, handing and roadholding. It is also assured the distinction of being the most potent front-driver yet, thanks to the power and torque produced by its heavily modified 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine.
So why doesn’t it get four wheel drive? Because ‘it absolutely doesn’t need to have it’ according to the engineering team behind it. The magic chassis ingredient within the front suspension is known inside Ford as the revo-knuckle which, along with the limited-slip diff, allows Jost Capito, the director of Ford’s Team RS, to say that the new RS “has virtually no torque steer at all.”
Capito doesn’t do exaggeration: “we don’t just look at the RS as being a souped-up version of the ST,” he explains, “It’s an entirely different car in its own right, with an entirely separate range of values. But it’s still very much a car you can use everyday. For most of the people who will buy it the RS will be their only car, so it has to be comfortable and usable 365 days a year. We could easily have made a more extreme car but, to be honest, we didn’t want to. In any case we’re talking about a car that has to make a profit for Ford. If this car fails to make a profit then, for sure, it will be the last ever Ford to wear an RS badge.” (Thanks to Autocar for News and Pictures).
The main technical points are as follows: sub £25k price, 295bhp, 302lb ft of torque, front-wheel drive with a Quaife limited slip diff. Zero to 60mph will take ‘less than six seconds’, the top speed will be limited to 155mph and zero to 100mph will take something between 12-13sec.
According to its creators the forthcoming Focus RS will rocket straight to the top of its class on performance, handing and roadholding. It is also assured the distinction of being the most potent front-driver yet, thanks to the power and torque produced by its heavily modified 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine.
So why doesn’t it get four wheel drive? Because ‘it absolutely doesn’t need to have it’ according to the engineering team behind it. The magic chassis ingredient within the front suspension is known inside Ford as the revo-knuckle which, along with the limited-slip diff, allows Jost Capito, the director of Ford’s Team RS, to say that the new RS “has virtually no torque steer at all.”
Capito doesn’t do exaggeration: “we don’t just look at the RS as being a souped-up version of the ST,” he explains, “It’s an entirely different car in its own right, with an entirely separate range of values. But it’s still very much a car you can use everyday. For most of the people who will buy it the RS will be their only car, so it has to be comfortable and usable 365 days a year. We could easily have made a more extreme car but, to be honest, we didn’t want to. In any case we’re talking about a car that has to make a profit for Ford. If this car fails to make a profit then, for sure, it will be the last ever Ford to wear an RS badge.” (Thanks to Autocar for News and Pictures).
