The Focus RS, the high-performance European version of Ford's popular hatchback, began production today in Germany, Ford said.
The 350-hp, all-wheel-drive five-door RS has never been offered in North America. The car has a cult following among the fast and furious crowd of import-oriented performance car buyers. They've been pestering Ford to sell the car here for years.
Ford says the RS arrives in the U.S. this spring with a starting price of $36,605, which includes an $875 shipping charge. Its main competition will be limited-edition performance cars such as Subaru's WRX STi and Volkswagen's Golf R, both of which also have sticker prices in the mid-$30s.
The RS sports a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission that drives all four wheels all the time. The all-wheel-drive system features dynamic torque vectoring that changes the amount of power sent to each wheel based on speed and direction. The system helps the car maintain maximum grip when driven aggressively.
Ford says it will build as many RS models as customers want to buy instead of limiting production. Ford is on a roll this year with its performance models. The company says sales of the Fiesta and Focus ST increased last year, and the Mustang had its best sales year since 2008, selling 122,349, units, up 48 percent over 2014.
The RS will be available at all Ford dealers.
Article Source: Auto News
