2009 Ford Focus RS will start below £25,000

2009 Ford Focus RS will start below £25,000

The production 2009 Ford Focus RS performance hatchback will be almost identical to the prototype model revealed in July 2008.

Just as it was expected, the hot hatch will be motivated by Volvo’s 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine capable of producing 296bhp and 410 Nm of torque with all this torrent of power delivered exclusively to its front wheels, which is not such a good idea, unless some tricks are employed to make these 296bhp more usable.

2009 Ford Focus RS

For starters, Ford has thrown in an improved Quaife helical limited-slip differential, a special performance suspension kit that limits torque steer, then gave the car a set of larger brakes hidden inside large 19-inch wheels and finally lowered its ground clearance, just to be sure.

With all these valuable extras, the car takes only 5.9 seconds to accelerate from zero to 60mph and has its top speed electronically limited at 155mph (244km/h). Well, the car doesn’t look that bleak compared to the 2009 Subaru WRX rocket on wheels, although the European car will definitely suck in a quartermile run.

The 2009 Ford Focus RS comes equipped with a pair of Recaro sports seats, an aluminum gear lever and, of course, a carbon-fiber interior trim. The company plans to sell the vehicles at a starting price of about €40,000.

The car’s fuel efficiency is rated at 9.4 l/100km (30.5 mpg) in a combined cycle with 225 grams of CO2 emited per each kilometer travelled. In the city the numbers won’t be as impressive since the RS consumes around 13.4 l/100km in ideal conditions, but on the highway you may squeeze about 7 l/100km if you don’t break the speed of light barrier too often.

2009 Ford Focus RS (rear view)

2009 Ford Focus RS (interior)

Photos: Ford Europe

See also: 2009 Ford Focus RS super-hatchback