A HATCHBACK for the hard working company car driver that can toast many supercars away from the lights has been unveiled by Ford – its new 350PS Focus RS.
With an ability to embarrass ‘premium’ brands that would make Labour’s leader Jeremy Corbyn proud, the latest racy Focus claims a sprint time from 0-62mph of 4.7sec to become the fastest-accelerating RS model ever built.
‘Socialist’ Focus levels the playing field
- Supercar thrashing Ford Focus RS sprints 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and reaches a maximum speed of 165mph;
- Fastest ever Ford RS model now available to order from £28,940 featuring Ford Performance AWD and 350PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine;
- Innovative Focus RS also offers Drive Modes – including industry-first Drift Mode – and Launch Control;
- Customer deliveries of high performance hatchback starting in Europe in early 2016
The Focus RS, unveiled at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show, also shows the ‘V’ sign to the common industry speed cap and will reach a top speed of 165mph powered by a specially engineered version of Ford’s new 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine.
Ford also announced that the Focus RS is now available to order with prices from a ‘budget’ on the road price of £28,940.
The all-new Focus RS optimises acceleration by introducing Launch Control technology to a Ford RS model for the first time. The model also debuts new Ford Performance All-Wheel Drive with Dynamic Torque Vectoring, for outstanding traction and grip with unmatched agility and cornering speed.
The Focus RS Launch Control system configures the vehicle’s chassis and powertrain systems to deliver the fastest possible acceleration, whatever the track conditions. The driver selects Launch Control from the cluster menu, engages first gear, applies full throttle and then releases the clutch.
The system then delivers optimum drive – including distributing torque through the AWD system, maintaining maximum torque using turbo overboost function, managing the traction control system, and setting the dampers.
To achieve maximum acceleration through the gears, a performance shift light in the instrument cluster alerts the driver when approaching the optimum upshift point of 5,900 rpm, and flashes if the engine hits the limit of 6,800 rpm.
The Ford Performance AWD system uses twin electronically-controlled clutch packs to manage the car’s front/rear torque split, and also can control the side-to-side torque distribution on the rear axle – delivering the “torque vectoring” capability, which has a dramatic impact on handling and cornering stability.
