A high-performance Ford Focus RS500 is awaiting the final production go-ahead for a launch next spring.
The Ford Focus RS500 could be canned
The limited-run RS500 is under development in Germany by Ford Performance as one of 12 high-performance models due before 2020.
The go-ahead is understood to hinge on practicalities such as whether the 500 limited-run models can be added to the Focus production line in Cologne without too much disruption and ensuring there’s a business case for the RS500 to be a financial success.
Ford won’t discuss future products, but a source told Autocar that the RS500 is “not genuinely green-lighted, but the desire exists to have a star in the RS and ST range”.
An important part of the plan, as well as providing enthusiasts with one of the quickest and best-driving hot hatchbacks yet, is to keep up interest in the cooking models of the third-generation Focus as it enters the run-out phase in the summer of 2017.
Technical details of the RS500 are thin on the ground, but a prototype spotted at the Nürburgring suggests bonnet cooling vents and a larger rear spoiler are under development.
The bonnet cooling vents are a clue that Ford is planning a power boost for the new RS500. Vents were a distinguishing feature of the first Focus RS500, which went on sale in spring 2010 to boost run-out interest in the second-generation Focus.
That original Focus RS500 had its 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine’s power lifted by 15% to a then-spectacular 345bhp. However, such is the pace of development of mega-hatches that 345bhp is now the output of the standard Focus RS.
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Einarbb
When will there be a 600bhp. hatch?
Ex Cop
Einarbb wrote:
There already is - Ferrari GTC4Lusso: 680 hp.
Einarbb
I meant
Peter Cavellini
Never mind the power,
Peter Cavellini.
Peter Cavellini
Erm,where does the £15K come from?
Peter Cavellini.
madmac
Drag race of A45 and RS3
Forget the manual, we al know DSG [or whatever name you like] is cleaner,faster,more economical.Also much nicer for stop-go city driving.
Move on,Luddites!
Madmac
FordEmployee
Brutus
ak76
Lazy, inaccurate reporting
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