Ford Focus RS – first look

For those who can remember the mid to late 80’s and the stunning range of fast road cars that this era produced then the RS name is sure to send a shiver down your spine. It belonged to a period that brought us such favourites as the Golf Gti MK2, 205 Gti and Fords Mk1 Escort RS turbo. This can also be seen as the birth of the hot hatch and started a trend that many manufacturers followed before the increasingly sky high insurance premiums killed it off. Well the RS phoenix has risen once again and this time Ford have gone to town and improved on the brief cameo appearance in 2002 of the first RS Focus. On that occasion Ford bolted a turbocharger onto a 2.0 Litre Zetec engine with an output of 212 Bhp and any colour as long as it was Blue. This time around the Mk2 Focus RS has been fitted out with a 301 bhp monster engine that also generates 324lb ft torque and is a modified 2.5 l turbo as found in the Focus St. As with recent performance models Ford have stuck with front wheel drive which some might think is a touch of madness when you consider the power under the right foot but the engineers have devised a new system called the Revoknuckle which gets rid of any torque steer that is usually experienced in cars such as the Renault sport Megane and Astra VXR.As with the Escort RS Turbo which came fitted as standard with a limited slip differential which you must consider was quite a thing to have on a 1988 road car -Ford have raised the bar for hot hatch equipment. In the looks department the Focus RS shows that whatever the Evo can do it can follow as 19″ wheels are fitted into huge wings and an open mouthed grille that looks like it will swallow up small animals if they should happen to cross its path. But what about the speed I hear you ask well how about 0-60mph in 5.9 secs, 0-100mph in 14 and 163mph top speed. From initial reports and reviews this is another hall of fame addition to the RS family and well worth the £24,995 it will cost you.