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Guess what Europe’s getting? An even better version of their better-than-ours Ford Focus. No fair. The Focus RS returns after a six-year hiatus, packing 300 hp. It’s making its production debut at the 2009 Geneva auto show.
The first-generation Focus RS, offered in 2002, packed a 212-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four mated to a five-speed manual, with power routed only to the front wheels. Once the first-gen Focus was replaced in Europe, Ford set about creating an ST model to satisfy the performance-hungry.
This new RS builds on the current Focus ST's setup, which includes a 222-hp, turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-five (itself yanked from the Volvo parts bin) and a front-drive layout. For the RS, the engine receives beefed-up internals, a larger turbo, and new intake and exhaust systems. It’s backed by a strengthened six-speed manual transmission. Early rumors about the car led us to believe that the RS would receive all-wheel drive in order to tame the upgraded engine’s increased power and torque (325 lb-ft). Without all-wheel drive in the cards, Ford came up with an alternative solution for the torque steer problem, and it’s called RevoKnuckle.
Torque That Doesn’t Steer
The RS team devised a new suspension design to combat the fun-killing behavior it refers to as “steering disturbance.” Its RevoKnuckle system uses a two-piece knuckle, with the upper part fixed to the strut and the lower portion connected to the wheel hub and strut and able to rotate with the car’s steering line. This, Ford says, keeps errant torque in check, removing the need for the added weight, cost, and complexity of all-wheel drive, and avoiding the fuel-economy hit associated with it. Other chassis improvements over the ST include stiffer springs, as well as longer, larger-diameter stabilizer bars.
All of these improvements come together to send the hot hatch to 62 mph in a claimed 5.9 seconds and on to a terminal velocity of 163 mph. Braking performance of 114 feet from 62 mph is also quoted. To add extra awesome to a sweet package, the Focus RS returns 30 mpg on the combined European cycle.
The looks and aerodynamics also get some tweaks. Louvers in the hood and air inlets below the headlights aid in cooling, while flared fenders make room for the 19-inch wheels. There’s no mistaking the purpose of the rear spoiler, styled after those found on Focus WRC cars. Color choices include Ultimate Green, Ford Performance Blue, and Frozen White, the first two of which can be carried over to the interior trim. Grippy Recaro cloth seats are standard, with black leather chairs an option.
We’ll Keep Complaining Until We’re Ford Performance Blue in the Face
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: we would love to see a new Focus replace the warmed-over first-generation car we’ve been making do with here since the last millennium. We praised it with several 10Best awards when new and even liked the now-defunct SVT version, but the enthusiast joy of those cars has vanished over the many intervening years.
Alas, if you’re still exiled in the Colonies and turbocharged Blue Oval goodness is what you’re after, Ford’s got a new Taurus SHO it wants to sell you. That may have to do until a new (read: European) Focus makes it across the pond in 2011.
Ford officials who are already sick of American enthusiasts carping endlessly about how we fail to get the "good" Focus in the U.S. may want to consider signing up for some bigger mailboxes. The 2.5-liter, 300-horsepower RS model is just now going on sale in Europe, and videos like this new one from Fifth Gear probably won't help to stem the tide of invectives headed their way.
According to Fifth Gear, the RS returns a somewhat timid-sounding 0-60 mph time of 5.9 seconds, but the RS promises keenly balanced performance elsewhere, with turbo lag that can actually be deployed to assist handling(!). In sum, the UK television program refers to the Blue Oval's 163-mile-per-hour hatch as nothing less than "a bomb in a greenhouse." Excuse us while we go take up gardening...
lawl ppl need to get better computers :P
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