Official: 280bhp ultimate Focus RS

[pommy b]

Wonder when FPV get this?

http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/car_news...mentid=8573084

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by pommy b

Wonder when FPV get this?

http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/car_news...mentid=8573084

FPV are well documented by saying that they won't touch a Focus unless they have significant input into it. There won't be an FPV Focus until 2012 at the earliest.

My one problem with this car is the driven wheels. Other than that, it will be a scorcher.

[5.4 GT]

"Ford has also confirmed something else. It will indeed be front-wheel drive."

Lame... Lost interest. lol

[MISTA FIESTA]

Expect to see a hi-po FPV version of Ford's next-generation Focus small-car

By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS 8 June 2008

FORD Performance Vehicles has long considered adding the Focus to its expanding artillery, but the first FPV small-car will not be a variation of the upcoming Focus RS due to be unveiled in Europe mid-year before being launched in 2009.

Instead, the firm – which is 51 per cent owned by Prodrive and the rest by Ford Australia – is likely to produce its own high-performance version based on the all-new third-generation Focus now under development now and due to be produced in Australia from 2011.

In a move aimed directly at HSV’s 177kW AH Astra-based VXR hatch, an FPV Focus would comfortably exceed the 141kW offered by the existing Focus performance range-topper, the 166kW XR5 Turbo.

Last year Ford announced that it will build the next Focus at its Broadmeadows plant in the north of Melbourne. The current model comes out of South Africa (or Germany if it's the XR5 Turbo).

If given the green light, the 2011 FPV Focus will be the fastest and most powerful small-car ever built in Australia.

“When the 2011 Focus is running down the Broadmeadows production line then we’ll have a lot of opportunity with that car,” Rod Barret – FPV general manager – revealed to GoAuto last week.

So it looks like Ford will actually bastardize and boganize the Focus name in Aus. Just bring the RS here and leave it at that. There is no way FPV can be taken seriously. I think Ford Europe know a little more than FPV when it comes to building, tuning the hot hatches of yester year and today. FPV are not worthy of touching any thing Ford RS.... :

[Fev]

i think it looks awesome! i'd love one, although its gonna cost an arm and a leg.. doesnt matter that its a Fwd - how many years has it been since we saw a Rwd 4cyl hatch?

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Fev

i think it looks awesome! i'd love one, although its gonna cost an arm and a leg.. doesnt matter that its a Fwd - how many years has it been since we saw a Rwd 4cyl hatch?

i agree, it looks fantastic. the great thing about the last 10-20 years with cars is to get a very fast car, you do not have to have a family sized sedan. in my opnion it is great to have a choice between an fpv falcon and a focus like that. i could handle both sitting next to the coupe in the garage. and strangely enough, i think i would probably drive the focus more than the fpv. it would certainly be more zippy around town. the best of 2of3 worlds. speed and nimbleness. couldn't tow a boat but that would only matter for a small percentage of road time

[satria]

Originally Posted by Fev

i think it looks awesome! i'd love one, although its gonna cost an arm and a leg.. doesnt matter that its a Fwd - how many years has it been since we saw a Rwd 4cyl hatch?

bmw 1 series fits that category ey?

so its been like 0 years

[mercury maid]

209kW and 400Nm thru the front wheels? good luck keeping it straight

[Fev]

ah yes the 1series... but they dont look as good and theres a much bigger **** factor there although they are pretty cool cars :P

[photn]

Originally Posted by mercury maid

209kW and 400Nm thru the front wheels? good luck keeping it straight

shouldnt be too hard.

Its not like the car is some aftermarket ZOMG butchered N13pulsar with a turbo conversion in it. The may be a hint of torque steer but i daresay that they will implement ways to reduce that. for instance a torque limiter in first and second or a booost limiter. not hard these days.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by DaveO_SP

"Ford has also confirmed something else. It will indeed be front-wheel drive."

Lame... Lost interest. lol

Ditto as with most FWD cars IMO. If only it was AWD

[MITCHAY]

Needs AWD as an option at least!

[mikestp]

Originally Posted by Fev

ah yes the 1series... but they dont look as good and theres a much bigger **** factor there although they are pretty cool cars :P

neons, spoilers, cannon exhausts and traction control all add up too less **** than front wheel drive.
a rearwheeler will always be better no mater what

[Windsor220]

would comfortably exceed the 141kW offered by the existing Focus performance range-topper, the 166kW XR5 Turbo.

Is it just me or does that not make sense?

[Rev28K]

Good luck to them – I’d rather have an exceptional front driver than a below average rear driver any day.

It would cost shed loads to do a one-off all wheel drive derivative of a FWD car without much payback. Think how much money Mitsubishi bled for their 4WD Lancer shells even if they did use Galant/Starion mechanicals.

Ford might’ve missed the boat with this model cycle but maybe in the future they could have a compact 4WD shell that they could share between Ford, Volvo and Mazda (3 MPS).

[RSgerry]

i would love one of these. if Ford sort out the chassis, then never mind the FWD, it will be a great handler. besides, two RS cars in the garage would be sensational :-)

[loltastic]

I said in the first thread this car was brought up in when everyone was claiming it was gonna be AWD, even the guys at the ring who apparently saw it "drifting" that it would be FWD or I would eat a live turtle, shell and all. Well, looks like the turtle is safe.

[antony101]

LSD people - it has a LSD.

Look at the megane f1 with lsd it outlaps the f6 around tested tracks.

There is nothing wrong with hi-po front wheel drives if they have a lsd - torque steer is all but eliminated.


Thankyou. :evil3:

[Cobra]

The only reason I can see as to why FPV would make their own Focus instead of importing the RS would be that they were not allocated any. If it's anything like the last model there will be a HUGE waiting list, and it was only sold in Europe. With the shoestring budget that FPV operate on, I couldn't imagine an FPV Focus would be anything near as well engineered as the RS. It would be nice to see some Prodrive infulence into an FPV Focus if they were to develop it in Australia, but I'm not holding much hope of that if any of the other FPV models are to go by.

[loltastic]

Originally Posted by antony101

LSD people - it has a LSD.

Look at the megane f1 with lsd it outlaps the f6 around tested tracks.

There is nothing wrong with hi-po front wheel drives if they have a lsd - torque steer is all but eliminated.


Thankyou. :evil3:

Bollocks. I used to have a manual Ralliart Magna which had a LSD and it torque steered like a dog. The F6 isn't a fast track car, it's too heavy.

[Ives]

AWD or FWD, the Focus RS is going to be awesome.

[zetec]

Originally Posted by DaveO_SP

"Ford has also confirmed something else. It will indeed be front-wheel drive."

Lame... Lost interest. lol

Your loss. Admittedly AWD would be less of a compromise, but nothing out of the hands of Team ST or Team RS has been anything less than brilliant in the past 10 years. Escorts a plenty, Focus ST170, Focus RS, Focus ST (XR5 Turbo), Fiesta ST (XR4). All brilliantly balanced and excellent hatches. The Focus MkII RS will certainly be probably the hardest and furthest they've pushed the boundaries but given their history (and the Focus ST base they're sorking from), I'd wager it'd be worth buying without a moment's hesitation.

Certainly won't be any worse than the 3MPS which no doubt they've heavily benchmarked. It's a cracker despite torque steer issues and I'm sure they've done a lot to minimise that. Whilst in the end you can't argue with the problem of torquesteer, you can most certainly do a lot to make the overall package pretty convincing.

It'll have a spine tingling inline-5 engine note, it'll lift off oversteer like a little terrier and will probably put serious fun into a drive to the letterbox, letalone one along a great road.

**Matt walks away to try and arrange a drive of one when he goes to Europe in December! Currently detaching testicles as an offering...** :

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by zetec

Your loss. Admittedly AWD would be less of a compromise, but nothing out of the hands of Team ST or Team RS has been anything less than brilliant in the past 10 years. Escorts a plenty, Focus ST170, Focus RS, Focus ST (XR5 Turbo), Fiesta ST (XR4). All brilliantly balanced and excellent hatches. The Focus MkII RS will certainly be probably the hardest and furthest they've pushed the boundaries but given their history (and the Focus ST base they're sorking from), I'd wager it'd be worth buying without a moment's hesitation.

Certainly won't be any worse than the 3MPS which no doubt they've heavily benchmarked. It's a cracker despite torque steer issues and I'm sure they've done a lot to minimise that. Whilst in the end you can't argue with the problem of torquesteer, you can most certainly do a lot to make the overall package pretty convincing.

It'll have a spine tingling inline-5 engine note, it'll lift off oversteer like a little terrier and will probably put serious fun into a drive to the letterbox, letalone one along a great road.

**Matt walks away to try and arrange a drive of one when he goes to Europe in December! Currently detaching testicles as an offering...** :

No doubt it will be a very good car, but it still won't be a worthy successor to the Escort RS Cosworth.... 12 years and still waiting :

[zetec]

Based on Safety, Economy, Performance, comfort and features and just about every tangible thing other than corner exit speed, I disagree. But it won't have the soul of a Cosworth!! Still this is technically only an RS... not a Cossie!!!!!

[photn]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

No doubt it will be a very good car, but it still won't be a worthy successor to the Escort RS Cosworth.... 12 years and still waiting :

Want the Cosworth RS a step above the standard RS?

[mikestp]

what would you rather?
A plain boring politically correct front wheel drive?
or this...

[Ives]

Plain and boring? HA!
Have you ever driven the Focus RS prototypes? Have any of you that posted something with "torque-steer" somewhere in your post ever driven the Focus RS prototypes?

If the answer is no then peasants like you should think before you post anything.

With regards to the Focus RS, I say bring it on. Ford Australia needs a true performance car... badly.

[MAGPIE]

Some of you people need to get over this RS/Cosworth being two distinct models, they are not like WRX/STi, only once has there being a RS and a RS Cosworth sold side by side (92-96 Escort RS2000 & RS Cosworth). So until they have them for sale side by side in showrooms the RS is the top of the tree for Ford European performance cars.

Ford has dropped the ball by not making the Focus RS AWD especially given the success of the WRX/EVO over the past decade and as such the Sierra & the last of the Escorts are still the most highly prized RS's to date.... Fact !

[photn]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Some of you people need to get over this RS/Cosworth being two distinct models, they are not like WRX/STi, only once has there being a RS and a RS Cosworth sold side by side (92-96 Escort RS2000 & RS Cosworth). So until they have them for sale side by side in showrooms the RS is the top of the tree for Ford European performance cars.

Ford has dropped the ball by not making the Focus RS AWD especially given the success of the WRX/EVO over the past decade and as such the Sierra & the last of the Escorts are still the most highly prized RS's to date.... Fact !

ONLY for their rarity and uniqueness. NOT because they are better performing cars. Go over to the UK and you will see abominations of the Escorts and seirras, FACT!


The matter of the fact is that Ford have put a FWD in the focus RS because it is more economically feasible. END OF STORY.

So all you freaking FWD haters - P!SS OFF out of this thread. EVERYone understands the benifits and issues with FWD. WE GET IT ALREADY. This is not a compare thread of the Cosworth RS Escort and the Focus RS. THIS IS A FOCUS RS DISCUSSION thread.

That is all.

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by photn

ONLY for their rarity and uniqueness. NOT because they are better performing cars.

Wrong !

Originally Posted by photn

Go over to the UK and you will see abominations of the Escorts and seirras, FACT!

I've lived there & your wrong again, you will always get abominations of all types of cars but with Sierra/Escort RS Cosworths they would be the rare exception not the norm.

As for the rest of your childish rant.... Grow up :