NEWS
| 02 May 2008 |
| New Ford Focus RS arrives in 2009 |
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First indications are that it will have two-wheel drive and produce at least 280bhp
Hot on the heels of its 2007 World Rally Championship triumph, Ford has serious plans to get back into the hyperhatch market alongside the Subaru WRX STI with an all-new Focus RS in 2009.
Yes, 2009, not 2008. Ford will show a finished concept Focus RS at this year's London Motor Show in July, but the production version of the Blue Oval's new road rocket will not be launched until the London Motor Show in 2009. The company says its design department is just too busy getting all its other new cars - the slick new Fiesta, Kuga and Ka - sorted to have the time this year to get the RS ready.
But, while Martin Smith's design team is sharpening its crayons, the engineering team, led by Ford Team RS boss and ex Paris-Dakar racer, Jost Capitos, will be hard at work deciding on the car's final specification. First indications are that the car will have two-wheel drive and produce at least 280bhp, but don't take those as gospel yet.
The news that it will be front-wheel and not four-wheel-drive will disappoint rally fans wanting a clone of the Championship-winning car, but Ford is certain that once we have seen and driven the car, few will be upset. It says it has rejected the all-wheel-drive set-up as it adds cost and weight, plus it is working on a super sexy semi-active limited-slip diff that it reckons will not struggle to get the power down.
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