Ford Focus RS Review
Ford has always been the working mans car with a very tough and reliable car each time it comes out with a production car. This is shown more so in their racing cars as was seen with the Ford Focus RS which was designed for the WRC and specifically for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport. The car which was a 2 liter hatchback derived from the normal Ford Focus and was taken nearly to bear bones with the finished version being very heavily modified.
The RS stands for Rally Sport and the Focus RS was competing in the WRC from as long back as 1999 all the way up until 2010. The car was very successful winning around 44 World titles and two manufacturers titles. After this long run of success the car was finally replaced in the WRC by the Ford Fiesta the smaller sister to the Focus from 2011 on wards.
The Focus RS WRC version of the car bears very little resemblance to the production car as with most cars in the WRC the car is extremely modified. The main parts of resemblance would be the basic shape of the car and some parts of the body. The car includes a four wheel drive system compared to the front wheel drive system of its road counterpart. The car also featured a downgraded engine because WRC regulations say that no car can race with an engine bigger that 2.0 liters. Because of this the Focus features a new 2.0 liter engine which is performance tuned with a turbocharger for extra go. All new ECU , brakes and suspension also feature in the performance upgrades with a slim fast type weight reduction putting the car down to around 1.3 tons with all its safety systems.
The first RS Focus came out in 1999 to replace the by then infamous Ford Escort. With its debut happening in the Mote Carlo Rally , Simon Joseph and a little known legend know ans Collin McRae were at the wheels of the two cars. The car came out guns blazing and to its debut with style and controversy alike. Two events Later the car had its first win under its belt with the help of Collin with a big lead over the second place competitor.
After the release and success of the 1999 car the Ford and M-Sport Guru's went back to the drawing board and brought out a new package for the 2003 Focus. The car had most of its parts redesigned in the wind tunnel with a result of less weight . The car experienced two world rally victories during its time and it was put out of WRC circulation in 2005 for lack of competitiveness.
Over the years the car continued to race very well and in 2006 with the introduction of an all new production car the WRC car also changed. The car mainly changed under the body with the usual improvements of weight and performance. The car went on to win form the 2007 rally and was a great success, also aiding the youngest driver in WRC history to his first win. In 2009 there was another injection of new blood into to the now decade old car this so very little in design changes and mechanically the car stayed pretty much the same. Creating some of the best rally moments is what you can charge the Focus RS with, it was a car that slung many into the history books. With a total of 171 WRC events and 142 podium places , the car managed to win 44 of these events and non much sweeter than that first by Collin McRae.
