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The fastest production Ford Focus to date, the RS, is being preened for its upcoming public debut with some testing sessions at Germany's Nürburgring circuit.
Using the familiar Focus ST as its basis, the RS uses a version of the turbocharged 2.5-litre Duratec engine that has been significantly remapped to produce 206 kW and more than 400 Nm of torque.
The revised chassis is being tuned by Ford Team RS, tasked with achieving exceptional driving dynamics with a front-wheel drive configuration. The presence of a limited slip differential should help to contain unwanted behaviour, though.
Jost Capito, whose Team RS was responsible for the first generation Focus RS in 2002, and more recently, the Fiesta ST and the new Focus ST said, “The new Focus RS is as much a car for driving enthusiasts as the one before it and classic Ford RS models of the past.
No compromise
"We’re staying true to the core RS principles of a no-compromise, affordable high performance road car you can live with. The new Focus RS will have the muscles, heart and soul of a genuine RS and will be exciting to drive every day.”
"We have no doubt that we can enhance the acclaimed qualities of the already excellent Focus for an even higher performance model than the ST," Capito added.
"Now, we are going through the rigorous job of proving out our technical approach in extensive testing and tuning over a variety of roads including the most demanding track in the world, the "Green Hell" that is the Nürburgring Nordschleife!”
Further technical details of the all-new Focus RS will be released closer to launch and the world will get its first view of the killer hatch at the upcoming London Motor Show.
Focus RS makes its market launch from early 2009.
