Focus RS Revealed: What You Need to Know

7463 Views 61 Replies 37 Participants Last post by sfbreh, Feb 6, 2015

AutoGuide.com

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2015

Making all other hot hatches look just lukewarm, Ford has revealed its incredible new Focus RS super hatch.

Co-developed with rally driver and stunt-man Ken Block, Ford has confirmed the new machine will make use of an exclusive 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with “well over” 320-hp.

Based on the same basic architecture as the 2.3-liter in the new Mustang EcoBoost, Ford has modified the enginewith a new cylinder head and head gasket as well as stronger cast iron cylinder liners. It also gains a less restrictive intake and higher-flow exhaust. In addition there’s a new twin-scroll turbocharger with a larger compressor, as well as a larger intercooler.

Equipped with all-wheel drive, Ford developed an all-new setup for this new machine that can not only deliver power front to rear, but distribute it side-to-side at each axle. As a result, Ford says the car will be able to send 70% of the maximum torque to the rear wheels with 70% of that to one rear wheel to help the RS rotate. The new AWD arrangement will monitor driving conditions 100 times a second in order to deliver the best possible grip.

Ford group vice president, Global Product Development, Raj Nair said the car will deliver “class leading cornering” and will ““virtually eliminate understeer” enabling over 1 g of cornering force.

Better yet, Nair announced a feature that will allow the new Focus RS to achieve “controlled oversteer drifts.”

Compared to the Focus ST, the RS gets stiffer spring rates and sway bars, while the car rides on 235/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport tires, while customers will be able to opt for a more extreme Pilot Sport Cup 2 tire as well.

Part of Ford’s new One Ford plan the car will, for the first time, be available not just in Europe, but also in North America and much to the excitement of performance car enthusiasts it will come with a six-speed manual transmission.

The car will be offered in four colors including Nitrous Blue, Stealth Grey, Absolute Black and Frozen White.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/02/2016-ford-focus-rs-super-hatch-revealed.html

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Geoff Chadwick

· #2 · Feb 3, 2015

Stealing it from a comment on Jalopnik (because it's perfect, honestly):

Jalopnik said:
Ford to Chrysler and GM:

Ford can afford this coming stateside because of their global market and (specifically) the UK which sells a lot of high-end Focus models and likely paid for the full development budget. I'd wager the Focus RS coming stateside was just a very low-cost decision simply done to see if the market would accept it. Even if they don't sell well, it'll certainly draw a LOT of showroom traffic as it is 100% straight up competition for the WRX STi. Personally, I'll happily drive my ATS over to a Ford showroom to check one out - had it been an option when I ordered my ATS I might have gone that route (as the lack of true posi diff on the Focus ST was a deal breaker for me).

GM has nothing that can compete with this, the closest being an ATS which will be both more expensive and won't attract the same buyers. The Cruze could be a logical contender with the right upgrades and modifications, but that just won't happen... GM made it clear when the Cobalt SS died out that the Cruze SS was never coming. Chrysler could have something by 2018-2019, but I'd wager they won't.

At one point a few years ago it was asked if a 2.5L turbo Ecotec (~340hp) would be better suited to develop than the next generation of N/A V6 as they'd offer similar power levels but could simplify some of the engine lineup and tooling costs.

Regardless, well played Ford. Well played.

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61BelAir

· #3 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

sweet!!! Is this the Stealth Edition?

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John Wilde

· #4 · Feb 3, 2015

This thing looks really nice and it should be quicker than the base and maybe mid tier Camaro.
It is a shame that GM doesn't care about this market.
I am not sure how it can be said that Dodge doesn't.
They are getting ready to to come out with an AWD 300HP plus Dart and CUV.
"Where you at GM? Don't be scared homie."

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Greg Burr

· #5 · Feb 3, 2015 (Edited)

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

AWD. The missus is retiring the Quattro and this can be a good fit, but it would need an automatic, and that does not look like it would happen.

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pcsario

· #6 · Feb 3, 2015 (Edited)

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Edge

· #7 · Feb 3, 2015

After I replace my 335i with an M3 this summer, I think this will be my other car's replacement next year. Can't wait to hear more and read the reviews.

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Amphibian

· #8 · Feb 3, 2015

This appears to be quite awesome. With the Evo going away, this will fill the void as the STi's only competitor, unless the Dart SRT rumors get real.

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goatgary

· #9 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

Nice basket handle. Could be bigger though.

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steve333

· #10 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

I assume I'm not the only one not seeing anything? Something going on with the website since yesterday

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Stéphane Dumas

· #11 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

steve333 said:
I assume I'm not the only one not seeing anything? Something going on with the website since yesterday

Same thing on my side as well, I started a thread and I didn't see the replies.

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goatgary

· #12 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

steve333 said:
I assume I'm not the only one not seeing anything? Something going on with the website since yesterday

Have to go to Auto Guide. This site is MESSED UP!!

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ChrisGinNC

· #13 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

steve333 said:
I assume I'm not the only one not seeing anything? Something going on with the website since yesterday

All I see is 61BelAir's post at the top of the thread.

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b4z

· #14 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

Friend of mine has a 2014 ST its a nice nice car. awd will make it more well rounded.

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Robert1969

· #15 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

GM Inside News stop acting like a drunken teenager and clean-up your act!

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cozbyrt

· #16 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

Greg Burr said:
AWD. The missus is retiring the Quattro and this can be a good fit, but it would need an automatic, and that does not look like it would happen.

What about the VW Golf R? It will be AWD and have an option for automatic.

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steve333

· #17 · Feb 3, 2015

Re: 2016 Ford Focus RS leaked

Nick says it's being looked into by the site owners.
I do notice lots of trackers and such on this site, makes things very slow. I have ghostery on Safari whichs helps somewhat

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Envoy4Life

· #18 · Feb 3, 2015

That front end is offensively ugly. Yuck.

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Geoff Chadwick

· #19 · Feb 3, 2015

Amphibian said:
This appears to be quite awesome. With the Evo going away, this will fill the void as the STi's only competitor, unless the Dart SRT rumors get real.

I wonder how that'll actually do... Interior materials/quality on the Subaru line has been historically pretty sub-par and the Mitsubishi isn't much better. Meanwhile the interior on the Focus is surprisingly more solid and better to the touch - so if the Focus RS is priced the same as the STi, it'll be more powerful and better to live with every day. If it's cheaper to boot?

Could be an interesting competition heating up.

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Cobaltss_King

· #20 · Feb 3, 2015

Pricing will make or break this version for the US market. I will definitely check it out though. The tuner world will embrace this focus for sure.

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