2016 Ford Focus RS

2016 Ford Focus

RS uses an uprated version of the new Mustang’s turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, mounted transversely and delivering “well in excess” of 315 horsepower. We’ll have to wait for the official performance figures, but there’s no doubt the RS is anything but a rocket ship, its all-wheel-drive system likely capable of helping it deliver a zero-to-60-mph time of well under five seconds. And some really good news: It will come standard—and only—with a six-speed manual gearbox.

For the 2.3-liter engine has been substantially altered from the version that powers the Mustang, with a new low-inertia twin-scroll turbocharger and a bigger intercooler, along with a revised cylinder head and stronger cast-iron cylinder liners. Ford promises a “free-revving top end”—that doesn’t sound like the Mustang EcoBoost to us—with a maximum rev limit of 6800 rpm. Taken together, that has us thinking that the finished car could produce more than 325 horsepower—possibly quite a bit more. (For reference, the last Focus RS was sold in Europe with an optional factory-supported Mountune upgrade that pushed power to 345 ponies.) The other significant number we don’t have yet is the RS’s weight. The additional bulk of the four-wheel-drive system means the RS is certain to tip the scales at more than the 3234 pounds of our long-term Focus ST.


The exterior styling delivers downforce as well as visual aggression, with a chunky rear spoiler integrated into the liftgate, a sizable diffuser, plus cooling ducts for the engine and brakes. Nineteen-inch wheels will be standard, along with bixenon headlamps. Inside the cabin are heavily bolstered Recaro sports seats, an additional bank of gauges, and lots of “blue RS” trim. Subtle it ain’t, but that’s hardly the point.

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