Ford America announce M3 Beating AWD Focus RS

OZST24 · 07-06-2005, 10:16 PM

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...?storyId=10841

Quote:

FOCUS RS GOES INCANDESCENT

Ford plans a mega-powered, M3-beating RS

It looks likely that the forthcoming Focus RS will have up to 350bhp and 332lb-ft of torque from a high-pressure turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine, driven through all four wheels. That's more than the current BMW M3's 343bhp and 269lb-ft.

According to Autocar, Ford execs are considering a plan to install the Volvo-developed engine in the RS, which is due out in 2007. The unit is an aluminium block, four valve-per-cylinder powerplant weighing just 180Kg.

Three versions will be built:

* 3.2-litre naturally aspirated with variable cam timing for inlet valves only, producing 235bhp at 6,000rpm and 236lb-ft of torque at 3,500rpm
* 3.0-litre low-pressure turbocharged with variable cam timing on all valves, producing 285bhp and 295lb-ft.
* 3.0-litre high-pressure turbocharged with variable cam timing on all valves, producing 350bhp and 332lb-ft.

The added power would put the RS at the top of the European hot hatch power ranks, and gives it massively more power more than the ST, with its 2.5-litre engine making 217bhp and 236lb-ft of torque.

Bodywork modifications include vents in the bonnet and an additional chin splitter.

The only piece of the jigsaw still missing, according to the report, is the right gearbox to handle all that grunt...

Come on Matt please tell us its coming to Aus as well

:
Id buy one in a heartbeat!!

Teki04 · 07-06-2005, 10:23 PM

WOW!!!!!!.... thats like..... awesome!!!! Is there any hatch that would compete with that?!?!?!

From what i had read i thought the next RS was going to be the same engine as the ST, just recalibrated for more power

MITCHAY · 07-06-2005, 10:33 PM

Sounde s prtty cool. Ive seen an M3 on the road thoufh and they are pretty damn quick if you ask me.

murcod · 07-06-2005, 11:02 PM

One question- how are they planning on fitting an inline six into a Focus engine bay?!

Teki04 · 07-06-2005, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mondeost24

One question- how are they planning on fitting an inline six into a Focus engine bay?!

By sticking it in the rear like the Clio V6?????!!!!!!!

lincoln · 08-06-2005, 10:12 AM

The new Volvo 6 cylinder they're talking about is about the same size as the 5 cylinder. It's a very compact and light engine.

Danny · 08-06-2005, 10:53 AM

Wow. An M3 Beater. Thats a huge claim and they better be able to back it up. As for how they'd fit an Inline 6 into a four cylinder engine bay.... I can't wait to see how cramped it is!!

The MaDDeSTMaN · 08-06-2005, 12:13 PM

Sounds interesting, that I'd like to see... Then somebody could transplant that engine into my Escorts engine bay... :hihi:

Danny · 08-06-2005, 12:17 PM

hahahahah sounds good

zetec · 08-06-2005, 03:35 PM

Daaaamn I sure hope that's a true story!!! an AWD 350HP Focus?!?!?!!!!! That's plain scary!!!!!!!! First I've heard of it!!

lincoln · 09-06-2005, 11:03 PM

I've got a copy of Autocar in front of me... it's on the front cover... if only I had a scanner :P

zetec · 10-06-2005, 12:41 AM

Daaamn!!!!!!!!!! I Want A Copy!!

The MaDDeSTMaN · 10-06-2005, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lincoln

I've got a copy of Autocar in front of me... it's on the front cover... if only I had a scanner :P

Somebody hand over a scanner, STAT!

zetec · 10-06-2005, 12:46 AM

Check this out

I don't endorse it, just a publicly available site.

Teki04 · 10-06-2005, 12:55 AM

Looks pretty good.... even though its just mags externally, and i think leather inside

lincoln · 10-06-2005, 08:19 AM

Yeah, this is one of the pics they showed in Autocar:

You can see the large intercooler. The extra flare on the front guards, indicating 4WD testing. You can also see the extra cooling vents on the bonnet. There's an extra front air splitter on the front bumper.

The reason why they're suggesting this new Volvo PAG 6 cylinder engine is that it's been designed for both transverse and longtitudinal mounting.

Everything in the Autocar article has basically been summed up in the first post.

Can't find any pics of the Autocar cover on the web, though :(

MAGPIE · 16-06-2005, 02:08 PM

MKII Focus RS Axed apparently although AE do come out with some dodgy stories.

Shame if true

:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Auto Express

There will be no Focus RS - that's the shocking news from Ford. Sources close to the project have confirmed the hot hatch has been quietly shelved. The moneymen reckon the manufacturer's current financial problems, coupled with the RS's high development costs, made further work unrealistic.

The dramatic move is a blow to fast Ford enthusiasts in the UK -a key market for the firm's performance models. They're still reeling from the scrapping of the Fiesta RS project last year. The decision means the ST badge will be Ford's current sporting flagship.

The RS, which was expected to have made its debut in 2007, would have used a turbocharged version of Volvo's new all-alloy 3.2-litre straight-six motor. It's understood Jost Capito, head of Ford Motorsport, was keen to tune the Focus

RS's engine to around 350bhp - more than the current BMW M3 - for an anticipated four-second sprint from 0-60mph and a top speed electronically limited to 155mph. To lay down this massive power, the RS would have borrowed the Volvo S40's all-wheel-drive layout.

Ford never officially declared it would develop a follow-up to the original Focus RS - launched in 2002 - but it was always on the cards. Internally, the project is simply on the back-burner and could be revived - but Auto Express has been told there are no plans for that to happen. A spokeswoman said: "At the moment, our priority is a wider range of products with broader appeal, such as the SAV concept and a new Ka. A more performance-oriented car like the proposed Focus RS would be developed only once these were established."

zetec · 16-06-2005, 06:48 PM

Boooo

Teki04 · 16-06-2005, 07:34 PM

Bummer.....

b2tf · 16-06-2005, 08:49 PM

And here I was going to say that will most certainly be my next car.

Hope it still happens.

lincoln · 17-06-2005, 10:51 AM

Appears I'll have to buy an LR RS after all :p

MeestaNob! · 17-06-2005, 01:30 PM

Congratulations Ford!

Ford: Embracing Stupidity!

The MaDDeSTMaN · 17-06-2005, 02:30 PM

Yet another stupid move by Ford if they don't produce it. Simple as that. Not everyone wants a mustang or falcon if they want a 'sporty' car, yet they seem to think there is only a market for big 'sporty' cars.

I'll just continue to dream about Ford making something like a modern day Escort, small, RWD, with enough performance to bring a smile to your face and the 'chuckability' that nothing they have made since the Mk II Escort has had. And I doubt that dream will ever become anything like reality. :(

zetec · 17-06-2005, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Not everyone wants a mustang or falcon if they want a 'sporty' car, yet they seem to think there is only a market for big 'sporty' cars.
:(

Hardly Troy, don't you think Ford want to do it if they supposedly have spyshots of one and they've supposedly been seen testing... If only every manufacturer in the world could do what they wanted. Problem is customers in the end don't want to/can't afford to pay for what the manufacturers want if it costs a lot to develop. To do a 3.2 straight six Turbo AWD in a hatch, something Ford have never come close to ever offering... that doesn't exactly cost as much as bolting on a few mods and hoping it'll survive. Has to be properly done, and proper = costly.

Besides, the article isn't even confirmed, for all we know, it could be a quad turbo V12 or it could be some journo's desperate grab at an otherwise boring month of news... most likely the latter.

I'd hardly say Ford aren't keen... after all they built the Focus RS MkI, they built the ST170, the Fiesta ST, Escort Cosworth... They're capable. They're back into rallying on the local scene. Let's give Ford a break and stop being greedy for a while. People find it very easy to slag off these manufacturers yet can't cough up the cash when one is released... Monaro anyone?

outback_ute · 17-06-2005, 08:59 PM

I'm sure Geoff Polites is doing everything he can to make it happen!

zetec · 17-06-2005, 10:01 PM

Hope so!!!!!!!!!!!

lincoln · 18-06-2005, 12:49 AM

Let's not mention how long those cars, you mention Matt, took to come to market. Especially ST170 and RS. I can understand them putting the hero car on the backburner, I just hope we don't have to wait as long as we did for the RS Focus.

The MaDDeSTMaN · 18-06-2005, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zetec

Hope so!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope so too Matt!

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to say that Ford, as a company, are not interested in building something like that, only that Ford Australia don't have a great track record when it comes to actually trying to sell anything other then a big rear-drive car to the public.

As you know it's something I'm passionate about, and I do feel that Ford Australia are missing out on sales they could get if they put more effort into not just being seen as the Falcon/Territory company.

But having said that, I do understand that, at the end of the day, Falcon and Territory are definate sales, while anything else, to a certain extent at least, are untested waters, so I can understand that it could be a financially risky move to spend money on things they may or may not end up getting money from.

I guess time will tell. I just hope that we do see something as exciting as this.