The anticipated Ford Focus RS is finally making its American debut soon, at next week’s New York International Auto Show, and we couldn’t be more elated: 315+ HP, all-wheel drive with dynamic torque-vectoring, a “Become Ken Block” button that engages the car’s dedicated Drift Mode…
Your teenage son will wet himself.
Ford boasts that the new hot Focus will premiere the first selectable drive modes ever to appear on a Ford RS model, one of which is the industry-first Drift Mode. That may sound like a dangerous thing to include on a car, but Ford recently clarified that the Ford Focus RS can still operate its Electronic Stability Control while in Drift Mode, only cutting-in when the computer senses that the driver is in trouble.
The new Ford Focus RS will also have a Launch Control feature, just in-case you have some old tires you want to send off with a bang. And to reign it all in will be the most powerful braking system in Ford RS history, with 13.8-inch vented rotors in front, 13.2-inch in the back, and opposed four-piston Brembo brake calipers. Air ducts starting at the front fascia, “jet tunnels” on the underbody, and lower suspension arm airflow guides are included to keep brake fade to a minimum.
The 2016 Ford Focus RS is essentially everything that the Focus ST represented, with the loudness cranked. It’s a fun, playful, and yet perfectly capable toy hatch with absolutely no pretense – just volume.
Says Ford Global Product Development VP Raj Nair: “Customers have begged for the Focus RS to come to the United States for years. And now we can say that they are getting one of the most innovative, powerful and best-looking RS cars ever. That is special.”
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