All this while, we thought Ford Focus RS has been given the unfair treatment. It is powerful and all, but a front-wheel drive? Seriously? Man, this iconic RS badged pocket rocket deserves way more. It deserves something more that would make it worthy of its rally lineage. And that, my fellow motor heads, has been addressed with the third-generation Ford Focus RS – thanks to the all-new all-wheel drive system, and for the first time, it will be heading to the U.S. shores. Not sure when, but we’d suggest you start saving up because it is coming. Powered by a 2.3L EcoBoost turbo four, as found in the new Mustang, but with additional benefits from a new twin-scroll turbo and larger intercooler, the new Focus RS is said to make “in excess of 315 horses.”
This new found power is fed to the wheels through a six-speed stick shifter – no fancy, paddle-shifting gimmick here, staying true to the spirit of motoring – and an all-wheel-drive system with Dynamic Torque Vectoring Control that could continuously vary the torque between the front and the rear, as well as across the axle. Ford said up to 70 percent of the torque could be put to the rear and up to 100 percent of it can be made available to each rear wheel. Basically, this is a car that wants no slowing down at corners; it wants you to push it around corners.
Obviously, that’s not all it has to offer. This upcoming hot hatch is also gets stiffer sports suspension, two-mode switchable dampers, electric power steering, shorter link arms for improved steering response, a set of multi-spoke 19-inch RS alloy wheels wrapped in high-performance Michelin Pilot Super Sport 235/35 R19 rubbers, and a more aggressive, aerodynamic optimized front, plus a large rear wing and a rear diffuser that surrounds a pair of sizeable exhaust tail pipes. On the inside, you will find a reworked interior with a pair of heavily bolstered partial-leather Recaro sports seats, a simpler but more intuitive design, a 8-inch high-definition color touchscreen, a leather-wrapped flat-bottomed steering wheel, a trio of gauges for boost pressure, oil temperature and oil pressure, and a 10-speaker Sony premium sound system.
The all-new Ford Focus RS will be available globally (and as said, for the first time in the US), however, exact availability is yet to be announced and so was the pricing. But rest assure that it won’t be cheap as far as hatches are concerned.
