Americans are undoubtedly very displeased at the fact that the head-turning Ford Focus RS never made it to US shores. Watching the many reviews of it posted online, one gets the impression that, while it may be a bit on the heavy and cumbersome side, it is a great driver’s car, with lots of potential for tuning, primarily thanks to the fact that under its bonnet lies a 2.5-liter Volvo engine, which in stock form makes around 300 hp.
Jay Leno recently got his hands on a Focus RS, which was brought over from Europe, where it was modified by UK-based Mountune. Now, it is claimed to produce 420-horsepower, while still being a controllable machine.
Leno does not mention torque steer as being too serious of a problem, but since even in standard form the car has some, they couldn’t possibly have made it go away by adding more power…
The Focus RS is one of the few head-turners made by Ford in a long time, especially in Europe. However, since it is such a highly-praised machine, which rivals many purpose-built sports cars for performance and corner grip, its inclusion into the realm of wall posters should not come as a surprise.
We will remember the Focus RS twenty years from now, when we’ll all be driving fuel-cell people carriers with a vacuum cleaner in the back. We will amuse ourselves as to why they gave a front-wheel drive car 300 hp, and with 20 years’-worth of experience accumulated, we might arrive at the conclusion that Ford only did it to get people talking and build its image, two things it masterfully achieved with the RS.
Now let’s wait for the next one.
By Andrei Nedelea
VIDEO