Ford Focus RS parked in Detroit....
Ford Focus RS parked in Detroit....
CL Community Team
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 17,331
Likes: 210
From: Miami, Florida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fo...cus_RS_Mark_II
I loved the design of the this European Focus and I used to see them all the time in Mexico, especially the turbocharged version that used to frequent my track back in Mexico.
I loved the design of the this European Focus and I used to see them all the time in Mexico, especially the turbocharged version that used to frequent my track back in Mexico.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,471
Likes: 252
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
The grille, IMO, looks too much like the ugly, oversized ones on the Mitsubishi Evo/Ralliart, but otherwise, it is a great little pocket-rocket. Road and Track just did a write-up on it (I read the paper copy, but here's the on-line article). Check it out....it's worth reading.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=8025
Col du Vence, France — Over the past 40 years, Fords wearing the RS badge have gained iconic status among motorsport aficionados.
Escorts and Focuses have taken victories in all the great rallies — Monte Carlo, Safari, London to Mexico, etc. — in the hands of some of the world's greatest rally drivers: Hannu Mikkola, Roger Clark, Colin McRae to name but three, while Sierra sedans conquered racetracks around the world. So any car that wears the RS badge has a lot to live up to; and the engineers who develop the cars, a fearsome reputation to maintain.
The 3200-ft.-elevation Col du Vence, a switchback narrow road that twists and turns its way up the mountains behind Nice, is an ideal venue for the new Focus RS. But as I trundle through the small villages and towns toward it, the 300-bhp 5-cylinder turbo engine burbling purposefully in the background, I can't help but wonder if the RS team is being wildly optimistic as all that torque — 324 lb.-ft. available from 2300 to 4500 rpm — and peak power created at 6500 rpm aren't too much for a front-wheel-drive car. Immediate rivals from Mitsubishi and Subaru spread their power across four wheels. Moreover, if there are any damp patches the front wheels will have about as much traction as an excited puppy on a varnished floor.
While the car is quite happy to potter along in 5th or 6th gear around town, it's when you hit the open road for the first time that it springs to life. There's a huge surge of power as you drop down the gears and plant the throttle into the bulkhead, but what amazes is the traction and complete absence of torque steer. Ford's patented Revoknuckle suspension is an engineering marvel; combined with a Quaife limited-slip differential it imbues the driver with huge confidence during high-speed cornering. You can increase both steering lock and power, and the car just precisely tracks around bends with no under- or oversteer.
At first I was chasing between 2nd and 3rd through the tighter turns but quickly realized that 3rd is so strong that once you're past 2300 revs, it's the only gear needed on snaking roads like this.
For the better part of an hour, I just drove up and down the Col, confidence in the car's huge abilities growing all the time. The 13.0-in. vented front discs and 11.9-in. solid rear discs delivered consistent, fade-free braking and only a few times did the ESP light flash on the tightest of damp hairpins. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Revoknuckle's effectiveness is that you can simply nail the throttle as soon as the apex is reached and you slingshot out the bend.
Little wonder the RS beat a GT's time around Ford's Lommel handling circuit.
There's so much more to the RS, though; across country it is astonishingly rapid. Flowing roads are dispatched with the sort of speed you normally associate with sports cars costing three times the price of an RS. Yet, it's so easy to drive rapidly and relaxing as well. Despite the stiffened suspension, 19-in. rims with specially developed Continental 235/35 tires and thin-shelled Recaros, the ride is fluid with none of the harsh inputs normally associated with cars that have a 163-mph top speed and sub-6-second 0–60 time.
All of it is accompanied by an exhaust note that reminded me of the first rallying Audi Quattros, and a turbo that on the overrun sounds just like Hannibal Lecter sucking his teeth.
Ford is building only 8000 over the next two years and at least one is coming to the States as [Ford Team RS boss] Jost Capito's personal transport.
Simply put, the latest Focus RS is the best value-per-bhp performance car that can be bought today.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=8025
Col du Vence, France — Over the past 40 years, Fords wearing the RS badge have gained iconic status among motorsport aficionados.
Escorts and Focuses have taken victories in all the great rallies — Monte Carlo, Safari, London to Mexico, etc. — in the hands of some of the world's greatest rally drivers: Hannu Mikkola, Roger Clark, Colin McRae to name but three, while Sierra sedans conquered racetracks around the world. So any car that wears the RS badge has a lot to live up to; and the engineers who develop the cars, a fearsome reputation to maintain.
The 3200-ft.-elevation Col du Vence, a switchback narrow road that twists and turns its way up the mountains behind Nice, is an ideal venue for the new Focus RS. But as I trundle through the small villages and towns toward it, the 300-bhp 5-cylinder turbo engine burbling purposefully in the background, I can't help but wonder if the RS team is being wildly optimistic as all that torque — 324 lb.-ft. available from 2300 to 4500 rpm — and peak power created at 6500 rpm aren't too much for a front-wheel-drive car. Immediate rivals from Mitsubishi and Subaru spread their power across four wheels. Moreover, if there are any damp patches the front wheels will have about as much traction as an excited puppy on a varnished floor.
While the car is quite happy to potter along in 5th or 6th gear around town, it's when you hit the open road for the first time that it springs to life. There's a huge surge of power as you drop down the gears and plant the throttle into the bulkhead, but what amazes is the traction and complete absence of torque steer. Ford's patented Revoknuckle suspension is an engineering marvel; combined with a Quaife limited-slip differential it imbues the driver with huge confidence during high-speed cornering. You can increase both steering lock and power, and the car just precisely tracks around bends with no under- or oversteer.
At first I was chasing between 2nd and 3rd through the tighter turns but quickly realized that 3rd is so strong that once you're past 2300 revs, it's the only gear needed on snaking roads like this.
For the better part of an hour, I just drove up and down the Col, confidence in the car's huge abilities growing all the time. The 13.0-in. vented front discs and 11.9-in. solid rear discs delivered consistent, fade-free braking and only a few times did the ESP light flash on the tightest of damp hairpins. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Revoknuckle's effectiveness is that you can simply nail the throttle as soon as the apex is reached and you slingshot out the bend.
Little wonder the RS beat a GT's time around Ford's Lommel handling circuit.
There's so much more to the RS, though; across country it is astonishingly rapid. Flowing roads are dispatched with the sort of speed you normally associate with sports cars costing three times the price of an RS. Yet, it's so easy to drive rapidly and relaxing as well. Despite the stiffened suspension, 19-in. rims with specially developed Continental 235/35 tires and thin-shelled Recaros, the ride is fluid with none of the harsh inputs normally associated with cars that have a 163-mph top speed and sub-6-second 0–60 time.
All of it is accompanied by an exhaust note that reminded me of the first rallying Audi Quattros, and a turbo that on the overrun sounds just like Hannibal Lecter sucking his teeth.
Ford is building only 8000 over the next two years and at least one is coming to the States as [Ford Team RS boss] Jost Capito's personal transport.
Simply put, the latest Focus RS is the best value-per-bhp performance car that can be bought today.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Basically 300 and FWD. Ford insists AWD was not needed. They must be write b/c CAr (or EVO) picked the new RS as the greatest hot hatch ever built.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,471
Likes: 252
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
The web-site version I posted didn't say it (I don't know why) but the paper-copy version, in the magazine, that I read quoted the top RS engineer as saying that Ford did a couple of developmental AWD RS versions and decided it was not "in the car's character". I suspect the real reason was weight and cost, although the designers, nevertheless, have seemed to have found a way to funnel that 300 HP and 324 ft-lbs. of torque to the front wheels without yanking the steering wheel right out of your hands.....or retarding the available power in the lower gears like some FWD high-performance cars do.
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,485
Likes: 0
From: Park Ridge IL
So exactly why is this Focus and the Mondeo not offered in the U.S.? Lots of people say that those are very nice cars and would definitely help Ford out, especially right now, yet Ford is sitting tight.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,485
Likes: 0
From: Park Ridge IL
New tauraus is the mondeo, fiesta is well the fiesta, euro focus is coming here too.