Well it says it has a unique suspension system, but I still think even with all the technology onboard to help it out, the front tires are gunna take too much punishment on the race track.

They bottled it. It's not a car that they want to directly make a profit on, it's just brand awareness publicity crap. If they'd gone for 4wd it would be directly compared with the Impreza STi and Evo, a standard I reckon they were worried they couldn't attain, which would leave the RS as an also ran in its class and defeating the publicity objective. By chickening out of that fight and keeping it FWD, it's simply a hot-hatch, to be directly compared only with the other FWD hot-hatches, and they can say it's the fastest even if it isn't that good, although it will probably be pretty good.

Another point to consider, is the first RS was not a profitable venture for them, partly because the number of 3rd party "big name" parts as standard. This makes me suspect financial reasons had something to do with the lack of 4WD. Never considered they may have chose that to keep it out the line of fire from Impreza's and the like.

I still expect to be pretty impressed though, even my "old" Focus is a brilliantly balanced car with very neutral handling, leaving you to do what you want with it most of the time.

IM a huge Ford enthusiast and dont get me wrong yes GWD is for pussies who cant handle a bit of fun but you got to understand its 2008 not 1970 when all the cars where RWD and awsome, All people these days want is safety etc etc (whatever imo)

but i can garentee you that withing 12 months Ford WILL HAVE TOO produce a 4wd focus RS, reason:

Rules of WRC, the new rules in WRC are that if a manufacturer want to apply a car in WRC they have to produce so many road going versions, and i just cant see a FWD car in WRC lol,

anyway, either way there will be a RWD/4WD version very shortly after they are produced which will be made by Companies such as Reyland,MPA motorsports etc etc list goes on....

but we will just have to wait and see, im hoping for one to be at Ford Fair next week, cant wait, shame my drift sierra cant make it

ill keep you posted with pics if there is one there

And if they can squeeze in a front to rear prop shaft as part of a 4WD system, then they can fit a prop shaft from a RWD system and make the car better, quicker, more fun, lighter and cheaper. Hurrah...

my dad's got a 2004 Focus RS, GR8 car but this time i think they over done it Torque Steer WTF!

Quote from Jordan2007 :

my dad's got a 2004 Focus RS, GR8 car but this time i think they over done it Torque Steer WTF!

Didn't the RS only come out between 2002-2003?

Na Ford can make a car that has power and handle it self. See the Focus ST, it can out handle the Astra VXR which has more power. This RS version i think will be a little super super hatcback which wont have any torque steer at all

another thing is, this time FORD arnt relying on little electronic gizmo's to sort out the problem of torque steer, they are putting everything on the quaife diff, so this time for the first time in years a manufacture is going mechanical>electronics

Quote from orange_boy_uk :

Didn't the RS only come out between 2002-2003?

well i dunno iv got a picture though its a late one though i know that its the 4483 one made out of 5001


EDIT: Yeh it was 2003

Two reviews up:
http://motoring.sky.com/featur ... -focus-rs-car-review.aspx
&
http://www.autocar.co.uk/Video ... s.aspx?AR=238360&CT=V

And it will be reviewed by Jason Plato on Fifth Gear tonight.

Even though it's FWD I know I'd like one.

Moar:
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/D ... Focus-RS-2009-CAR-review/
&
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t ... owroom/article5772860.ece

Quote from sam93 :

Wouldn't you be able to make a FWD car like a Corsa, well in this case a Focus into a 4WD with not very much work, well obviously you would have to change the diff's etc.. but it would be posiible wouldn't it.

I don't think any manufacturer has ever aimed to make a performance car anything like a Corsa. The Corsa is a car designed entirely for people who aren't interested in driving.

Love the way Ford brand their 5cylinder engine as a Duratech when it's clearly dropped in straight from a Volvo and they got the permission to build Audi's 5cylinder cast engine block anyway. Still, will never sound as good as an Audi 5cylinder, just one of those sounds that can never be replicated. Ford don't deserve to use a 5cylinder engine. Has more credibility than the car.

And for people who think that the colour is horrible, they need a rain check, because it's a hell of a lot better than that horrible Orange.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

I like this RS, but i like the ST more so. The ST looks more understated.

The ST is bright orange and anything but understated...

Quote from sam93 :

Not to much horsepower for a FWD, I have seen Corsa's that are 350BHP and I have heard it is possible to make them 400BHP what I am wanting to achieve when I get mine.

Yep the old boy racer bolt on power... :doh:

Quote from Jakg :

The limit for production cars really is around 260 HP with the sort of suspension "hot hatches" have as standard. iirc there is a FWD Dodge from the 60's with a 400 HP V8 stock, but it's impossible to drive fast without being careful on the throttle

Not this again, anyone can do basic stress analysis and produce drivetrain and suspension components for a powerful front wheel drive car. Producing appropriate drivetrain will be a fraction of the cost of developing the engine when done properly (rather than by Corsa tuners). There is no limit to how much power a front wheel drive car can safely have, if it has too much for the tyres it should simply spin the wheels produce some torque/understeer, similar to a RWD car but just easier for the average muppet to handle. Front wheel drive cars may get boring when they have enough power to spin the wheels (probably anything more than 150bhp is too much for driving satisfaction in a typical hatch on typical tyres) but they're perfectly safe and easy to drive with more power, there is no limit t how much power any layout or basic design of car can have if designed correctly.

Quote from Corey_XR4I :

but i can garentee you that withing 12 months Ford WILL HAVE TOO produce a 4wd focus RS, reason:

Rules of WRC, the new rules in WRC are that if a manufacturer want to apply a car in WRC they have to produce so many road going versions, and i just cant see a FWD car in WRC lol,

If they have to produce homologation cars I'd suspect it'll be more like other recent homologation runs with cars that are produced but never properly put on sale to the public with most of them ending up as competition cars or being disassembled again. The drivetrain would have no relation to the road car at all and the costs would be huge, so I can't imagine it being like another Cosworth. If Ford wanted to do one they'd have to approach it as a proper road car, at huge cost, which isn't going to happen in this economic climate. They had developed a 4WD road version of the mk1 Focus but it was never sold.

My mum's Gold GTi mk5 (05 plate) is pushing 260bhp with just a re-map, and thats really nice to drive, although it does spin its fronts like crazy from a standing start in the wet. So id think this will be fine.

Sam - When do you plan on getting insured in a 350bhp corsa? By the time you do, you'd probably move onto "better" things.

Quote from sam93 :

Wouldn't you be able to make a FWD car like a Corsa, well in this case a Focus into a 4WD with not very much work, well obviously you would have to change the diff's etc.. but it would be posiible wouldn't it.

Well start with the basics, if your going to have to transfer power to the rear rip out the transmission tunnel, fuel tanks and the entire rear suspension. Now it is necessary to extensively strengthen the rear of the car, trying to do this without intruding on interior space in a car that is already to cramped isn't going to be possible, the car needs to be designed to take 4WD in the first place. In a competition car you can get away with having to retrim the interior and get all the structure of the car from a rollcage.

Before you change anything you're racking up a bill of £5000+ to get it done professionally. You'll have to then sort out gearbox/drive transfer/differentials (front/rear and centre) get bespoke uprights designed and manufactured. Once you've got that sorted you'll need new suspension arms designed and manufactured, new shocks all round and if you don't want a horribly compromised car you'll have to redesign the front as well.

Once you've done all this you'll be racking up a bill nearing six figures if you want a half decent result, the car will have some disadvantages but the advantages will outweigh it if you're using the car for some forms of competition use. If you started with a 4WD or RWD car you'd spend a fraction of the cost and get a better result. If you try and convert it by just seeing what works/fits you'll end up with a horrendous mess that will be far worse than the standard car. The only way to get it done reasonably cheaply is to take the complete running gear and suspension of a working 4WD car and put it into a FWD shell, the resulting car will never be as good as the donor, but I can understand the appeal of a Mini bodied Scooby

I would of said exactly what Alex did, but I would of made it comprehensively retarded.

Its teniously linked to this post, but its never stopped people before!!!!.

09 Focus has been in testing for this years BTCC, and it looks pretty tasty

http://www.crash.net/BTCC/News ... rack_for_first_tests.html

Quote from pearcy_2k7 :

My mum's Gold GTi mk5 (05 plate) is pushing 260bhp with just a re-map, and thats really nice to drive, although it does spin its fronts like crazy from a standing start in the wet.

No it is not producing 260bhp with a re-map, there is no way Volkswagen spent millions mapping the thing in the first place so badly that someone can press a few buttons shoving a bit more fuel in and making vague changes to timing and get a 30% increase over standard. A proper engine mapper could maybe get an extra 10% increase in peak power but better performance across the rev range at the expense of making the car totally impractical for road use. Of course the rolling road man can make a few changes that don't do a lot then keep some throttle on during the wind down and get the machine to produce a totally bonkers engine power read out.

Quote from BlueFlame :

I would of said exactly what Alex did, but I would of made it comprehensively retarded.

DAMN IT

Now I have to clean my keyboard again, and get the bits of sandwich out from all the gaps between the keys.

DON'T BE AMUSING AGAIN, OKAY?!

Quote from tristancliffe :

DAMN IT

Now I have to clean my keyboard again, and get the bits of sandwich out from all the gaps between the keys.

DON'T BE AMUSING AGAIN, OKAY?!

I hope you're being sarcastic!

Quote from danowat :

Its teniously linked to this post, but its never stopped people before!!!!.

09 Focus has been in testing for this years BTCC, and it looks pretty tasty

http://www.crash.net/BTCC/News ... rack_for_first_tests.html

Anybody who knows why the have chosen the 5-door, when the 3-door would be lighter and a have higher degree of torsional stiffness? (i don't know if 'torsional stiffness' is the right word as all my engineering books are in danish.)

http://www.autocar.co.uk/ <--- also a review :P.... damn... want that car(like hundrets of others.. but that's a dream which will never come true propably :razz.

Edit. Oh crap.. indeed it was posted... hmm sry :P

Quote from Byku :

http://www.autocar.co.uk/ <--- also a review :P.... damn... want that car(like hundrets of others.. but that's a dream which will never come true propably :razz.

Already posted that link.

Edit: I didn't. Instead I posted the same review twice, even though I intended to post the autocar one. Corrected now.

That car looks awesome! I have a feeling I just jizzed in my pants... over a focus.

PS: New Avvie!

Quote from ajp71 :

No it is not producing 260bhp with a re-map, there is no way Volkswagen spent millions mapping the thing in the first place so badly that someone can press a few buttons shoving a bit more fuel in and making vague changes to timing and get a 30% increase over standard. A proper engine mapper could maybe get an extra 10% increase in peak power but better performance across the rev range at the expense of making the car totally impractical for road use. Of course the rolling road man can make a few changes that don't do a lot then keep some throttle on during the wind down and get the machine to produce a totally bonkers engine power read out.

Sorry, i was thinking about something else, which is a totally different scenario, your right, from standard a re-map won't gain that mmuch out of a car, but i know my dad has had a 100bhp increase just from a map, but thats something totally different. It was chipped not re-mapped by Awesome.