As more and more American 2016 Ford Focus RS owners are starting to take delivery of their cars, we get to find out how The hot hatch of the moment, as we called it in our review, handles drag races involving machines coming from all corners of the go-fast realm.
The latest adventure of this kind sees the Blue Oval compact duking it out with a Nissan 370Z Nismo, a Dodge Charger SRT8 and an Mk7 Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Since the Focus is still fresh, it's onwer hasn't had the occasion to take it down the tuning route. However, we can't say the same about the speed demons it battles on the street. And while the naturally aspirated engines of the Z and the Charger mean mods can only deliver so much extra oomph, when it comes to the two-liter turbo GTI, the custom bits make a massive difference when compared to the stock car.
As we mentioned above, the races unfortunately happened on the street. However, the drivers took the time to use standing starts, so the Ford can make full use of its insane all-wheel-drive launch - keep in mind that the 350 hp, 350 lb-ft machine can play the 0 to 62 mph (make that 100 km/h) game in 4.7 seconds.
However, the Focus RS and the Nismo 370Z also engage in rolling start stunts and, as you'll get to see in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, this can make quite a difference.
How far can the Mk III Ford Focus RS be taken in terms of engine play?
A few tuners from Europe and the US have already delivered upgrade packages for the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbo-four animating the hot hatch. To talk figures, we'll mention the bar has only been raised to around 400 ponies so far.
However, Hennessey Performance has already said it would deliver a 500 hp Focus RS and the Texan developer isn't the only specialist making promises of this kind.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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