Meet Ford’s fastest-accelerating RS model yet – the 2016 Ford Focus RS. The Focus RS is powered by an engineered version of the carmaker’s new 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine that develops 350 hp of output and 350 lb.-ft. of torque, allowing the high-performance hatchback to accelerate from zero to 62 mph in just 4.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 165 mph.
The sprinting power of the new Focus RS is thanks to the installation of a launch control technology. This launch control feature configures the vehicle’s chassis and powertrain systems to allow the car to achieve the fastest possible acceleration.
A driver just has to choose launch control from the cluster menu, then engage the first gear, apply full throttle and then release the clutch. A driver will have to leave the rest to launch control, which boasts of functions that include distribution of torque through the all-wheel-drive system and maintenance of maximum torque through the turbo overboost function.
Other launch control functions include managing traction control and setting up the dampers. Interestingly, launch control helps the driver achieve maximum acceleration by lighting up the performance shift light in the instrument cluster when the engine is nearing the optimum upshift point of 5,900 rpm.
The shift light then flashes if the engine strikes the 6,800-rpm limit. On the other hand, the new Focus RS is the first Ford vehicle to be blessed with new Ford Performance All-Wheel Drive with Dynamic Torque Vectoring, which promises superb traction and grip, remarkable agility and cornering speed.
This system utilizes twin electronically controlled clutch packs to manage the front/rear torque split. This system also has the ability to control side-to-side torque distribution on the rear axle, thereby delivering a torque vectoring capability that supports handling and cornering stability.
Additionally, the all-wheel-drive system takes note of inputs from multiple sensors on the vehicle at a rate of 100 times per second. Ford Performance All-Wheel Drive was attuned with the car’s Torque Vectoring Control for optimal driving dynamics.
Customers can choose from four different drive modes – normal, sport or track and drift -- all presenting different configurations of the all-wheel-drive system, electronic stability control, damper controls and steering and engine responses, as well as exhaust sound.
When the Focus RS in on the special drift mode, controlled oversteer drifts can be performed. With regards to the car’s powertrain, its 2.3-liter EcoBoost features a fundamental structure present in the aluminum four-cylinder EcoBoost engine that powers the new Ford Mustang.
This 2.3-liter EcoBoost has been upgraded to churn out 10-percent more power, thanks to a new low-inertia twin-scroll turbocharger with larger compressor, a large-bore high-performance exhaust and an improved enhanced air intake design.
MY2016 Ford Focus RS is the third-generation Focus RS and is developed by Ford Performance in Europe and the United States. It is the 30th car given the privilege to carry the RS badge and is one of 12 new performance vehicles that Ford will present around the world through the end of the decade.
Ford will start North American delivery of the Ford RS – with a starting price of $36,605 – in the spring of 2016. Dave Pericak, director at Ford Performance, remarked that the Focus RS promises to deliver superb performance and innovative technology at a price that will attract enthusiast consumers.
Ford Performance is a unit of Ford that serves both as laboratory and test center for creating performance vehicles, parts and accessories. Ford Performance has been a source for innovations found in Ford vehicles like those involving aerodynamics, electronics, light-weighting, fuel efficiency and powertrain performance.