New Ford Focus RS will become a classic

Eye catching from any angle: the latest Focus RS

© Image Charlie Magee

The new generation Ford Focus RS is the most powerful ever production car made by the company in Europe and reaches showrooms at the end of March priced from just under £25,000.

It is the 22^nd model to carry the RS badge since 1970 and the second Focus in the series since 2001.

The new model is a development of the Focus ST but there are very significant electronic, engine, transmission, steering, brakes and suspension modifications to produce and cope with 300bhp and 440Nm peak torque from the 2.5 litre five-cylinder engine and six-speed box.

That punches it to 62mph from standstill in less than six seconds and top speed is above 160mph.

Focus RS is the first to utilise the Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing limited slip differential in conjunction with a RevoKnuckle front suspension link at the bottom of the strut, which effectively gives it a lower wishbone arrangement.

This is the key to the newcomer's truly sensational responsiveness and handling as I found out on mountain roads in the south of France this week.

Without going to the complexity, weight and expense of four-wheel-drive, the latest Focus RS shows exceptional stability over any surface and it's matched by a finely tuned electric hydraulic power steering, some of the biggest brakes on any production car and surprisingly compliant springs and dampers aided by uprated anti-roll bars.
They are set up with a firm bias but they are not jarringly hard and only really let low speed bumps be felt but once on the move the car's composure is absolute.

Inside there are unique slim, enveloping colour-coded Recaro seats, aluminium and carbon effect detailing and the RS boasts a unique body with different front, rear and side panels designed to accommodate the wider wheels and tyres on the 40mm stretched track. It is topped off with the signature RS double wing over the back window.

With a bigger footprint on the ground, the Focus RS is going to have greater poise and it's not lost its agility but feels even sharper than the popular ST with a higher ratio rack.

What sets it apart is the additional low speed grunt and through the gears acceleration.

The 2.5 engine has a bigger turbo, modified profile camshafts, new pistons, inlet and exhaust systems and revised six-speed box.

It produces a flat power line from 2,300-4,500rpm and punches out maximum power afterwards.

Even drive it badly, floor the throttle and it immediately sends out a deep exhaust roar and you hang on while it bites into the tarmac and shoots away. The reworked steering is sharper without suffering vibrations and the brakes only need modest effort to bring about huge stopping ability with complete control.

If you want to drive in a more relaxed manner, the Focus RS will do that as well. You can happily sit back and let the car gobble up the miles of a long motorway journey.

The Ford Focus RS will be sold in its halo colour of ultimate green, while frozen white and performance blue can be ordered, and it comes with option packs for dual zone air conditioning, auto lights and wipers, parking sensors, tyre deflation warning and key-less ignition, as well as touchscreen navigation hands-free phone and leather trim.

It is being tipped as a future classic and with just 4,000 coming to the UK its residual value is expected to be good.

It's still weeks away from the hands of the first eager owners, but the new generation Ford Focus RS is destined to be a classic and highly sought after used car in the future. Conceived three years ago as a natural successor to the previous Focus RS and a range topping performance car above the new Focus ST, the latest Focus RS could be the last of its kind with a blue oval badge. Its politically incorrect 300bhp engine under the bulging bodywork of this 160mph slingshot is the most powerful production unit made by Ford of Europe and its aimed directly at a niche segment who demand extraordinary performance from an everyday car. The jeckel and hyde character to the car was always popular but in today's market where money matters it is also remarkable value. Which explains why Ford has already taken 1,100 orders in the UK for the Focus RS with a further 1,000 expressions of interest and expects to sell 4,000 over the next two years. Ford of Britain managing director Nigel Sharp says most of these will go to previous RS owners as well as ST enthusiasts who want more power. The UK is the biggest market for RS, outselling super-cool Switzerland which has 1,200 sales planned and under 1,000 in Germany despite its unlimited motorways. He said, "The recession and credit crunch have had a profound effect and we don't really know where the market will be this year but we think it will end with about 1.9M cars and commercial vehicles. "We will have a better idea after March but last year it was about 2.5M so it's a sizeable drop and we don't want to have fields of unsold cars lying around so it makes sense to reduce our output. "We have acted very quickly to take out production but it's going to be challenging to cut costs on top. We have effectively moved onto a four day week but we need to keep the ability to rapidly respond to the upturn when it comes." He said a further challenge to the company in Britain was the falling value of the pound. "Over the last 18 months we have seen a 30pc decline in the value of the pound against the euro and that's hurting us and making it more expensive to bring cars and raw materials into the country. We are not alone in this as the exchange rate affects electrical and electronic goods as well." Mr Sharp said he believed Britain would see a return to stronger prices to recover some of the additional money lost in exchange rates. "We will have to revisit our prices in the near future but we will be as fair as possible and give warning to people so they have a chance to buy and fix a price before it is raised." Ford's head of global performance vehicles, Jost Capito, added, "When we were developing the new Focus RS we did not see the current financial crisis and the recession but we were concerned with creating a car which appealed to the traditional RS buyer who used it every day and then enjoyed it more at weekends. "I am not sure if we will be creating another car like it because the world is changing and pressure is mounting for a different sort of car. This could be one of the last of a long line but for sure the RS owners will want it because they enjoy driving so it could make this new series one of the rarest." He said that RS models which cost £20,000 seven years ago were still fetching prices of £14,000 and demand was obviously high. Ford is still awaiting a RV figure for the new car but expects it to be very good. With the newest version of the RS family, every Ford dealer will be able to sell and service it as it is made on the same production lines in Saarlouis as the standard Focus with the higher performance engine and special body parts integrated into the usual production line. Ford has set a target of 8,000 new Focus RS models in its production run, almost twice that of the last generation from 2001.