By: IOL Motoring Staff
Cologne, Germany - Ford's third-generation Focus RS, revealed on Tuesday ahead of its world debut at the Geneva motor show, features an innovative all-wheel drive set-up that takes it, once and for all, beyond the 'hot hatch' genre.
There is just so far that you can push a front-wheel performance car, as several generation of hot hatch builders have discovered, and the new Focus RS, developed in collaboration with rally and stunt driver Ken Block, has a specially tweaked 2.3-litre EcoBoost that delivers ‘more than 235kW’, so all-wheel drive makes a lot of sense.
The system is based on dual electronically-controlled clutch packs on each side of the rear drive units, which manage the car's front/rear torque split, and can also control the side-to-side torque distribution on the rear axle, giving it a torque vectoring capability that dramatically improves handling and cornering stability.
A control module unit in the rear drive unit varies the front/rear split (up to 70 percent rear) and the rear drive (up to 100 percent on either side), monitoring multiple sensors 100 times a second for seriously quick response - 'driving' the car into the corner and practically dialling out understeer, according to the RS design team.
It can handle lateral acceleration of more than 1g and, thanks to adjustable limit settings, can also deliver controlled oversteer on demand. Spring rates, suspension bushes and anti-roll bars are all stiffer than those in the Focus ST and two-mode switchable dampers provide a stiffer setting for track driving.
PONY POWER
The RS' all-aluminium 2.3-litre turbofour is developed from that of the new Mustang, but has a low inertia twin-scroll turbocharger with larger compressor for significantly greater air flow, along with a much bigger intercooler to maximise charge density, 'ported' intake manifold and a big-bore sports exhaust with an electronic valve in the tailpipe to balance back pressure against soundtrack
The six-speed manual transmission has also been upgraded with tougher components and a shorter gear lever for quicker shifts.
The styling of the RS is based on the new Focus, with a deeper front splitter to allow the biggest possible air intakes for engine and brake cooling. An unusually big rear diffuser sucks the air out from under the car to reduce drag, and the distinctive rear spoiler is braced by body-coloured side panels embossed with the RS logo.
Broad-shouldered wheel arches house a selection of 19-inch rims, including a lightweight forged design in low-gloss black that's a kilogram lighter per rim than conventional cast hoops, while standard-issue bi-xenon adaptive headlights adjust the intensity and angle of the beams according to speed, steering angle and distance.
INTUITIVE LAYOUT
The flight deck is built around deeply bolstered, partly leather-trimmed Recaro sports seats, and a flat-bottomed steering wheel with soft-feel leather trim, together with alloy pedals and special RS instrument graphics, as well as an extra bank of gauges for turbocharger boost pressure, oil temperature and oil pressure.
The rest of the fascia follows the simpler, more intuitive layout of the new Focus, providing access by voice control to audio navigation, aircon and telephony, as well as through a 200mm colour touchscreen, with the option of a rear-view parking camera and a 10-speaker Sony sound system with subwoofer.
The distinctive blue RS theme comes up throughout the cabin with contrast stitching on the seats, steering wheel, floor mats and interior trim, a blue graphic on the gear shifter and RS logos on the seats, steering-wheel boss, and sill plates. The signature paint colour, of course is Ford's Nitrous Blue, although the show car for Geneva is finished in the same liquid-look metallic blue as the new Ford GT.
This will also be the first RS model to be sold around the world, and will be produced for all markets at Ford's Saarlouis plant in Germany, from late 2015. The good news is that it's also headed to South Africa, although no time frame has been given as yet.