Ford has released details and pictures of the new Focus RS500, a car seemingly for those with balls as big as their wallets. Although prices are not available (the car is not coming to South Africa anyway), it should be quite devastating to the pocket. Come to think of it that’s why Mzansi is not getting the normal RS either, both situations quite pitiful if you ask me. Only 500 units will be sold in Europe, hence the name.
Back to lecture at hand. The RS500 is the most powerful Focus ever made for the road and features the same 2.5-litre 5-cylinder turbo engine, probably Volvo’s hardest working engine so far. This time power is upped to 257kW at 6000rpm and peak torque is 460Nm between 2500 and 4500rpm.
“The engine’s improved breathing has allowed us to increase power without having to raise turbo boost pressure significantly,” explained Gunnar Herrmann, Ford’s Global C-Car Vehicle Line Director. “This has made it possible to enhance peak performance while maintaining the excellent driveability, fuel consumption and emissions of the standard Focus RS.”
Performance is quite impressive, with the 0 – 100km/h dash dispatched with in just 5.6 seconds and top speed pegged at 263km/h. Amazingly Ford has kept the front-wheel-drive (FWD) format instead of installing an AWD system to handle all that power and torque. I would imagine the torque steer experienced in take-off and possibly in some driving situations is quite a handful, but the company insists that its ‘RevoKnuckle’ front suspension design and a Quaife helical limited slip differential (LSD) help limit these undesirables.
The exterior colour is a matt black finish which goes well with the 19-inch alloy wheels with 235/35/R19 tyres. High performance brakes feature red brake callipers which are not only for display purposes but of course offer the required and expected performance.
The special edition Focus RS500 comes standard with pretty much everything, including rear parking sensors, dual zone climate control, a Sony 6-CD changer, Bluetooth connectivity and a USB port.
I’m sure that should a really hardcore Ford enthusiast want to import one, a price tag of over R700 000 would be in order. Now you understand why it’s not coming to South Africa.
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