Photo: CarPix
Even though the facelifted Ford Focus ST will be unveiled this very weekend at Goodwood, the Blue Oval's skunkworks team isn't resting on its laurels just yet. For the first time ever, our spy photographers managed to spot a prototype of the upcoming 2016 Ford Focus RS doing hot laps on the Nurburgring.
Compared to the mildly hot Focus ST, the RS is something like a ferocious wild animal that doesn't feed itself with gazelles, but winding strips of tarmac. And like some wild animals, the RS-badged Focus has been extinct for the better part of four years now. Since then, Ford hasn't really filled the empty space left by the former generation Focus RS, that culminated with the manic 345 horsepower RS500 variant.
Regardless of how, the wait will soon come to an end according to some reports and solid proof as well. Some voices hint that we'll get a new Ford Focus RS as early as this October (at the 2014 Paris Motor Show), while the solid proof is represented by the multiple times our carparazzi spied test mules of the damn thing. With the latest batch of pics provided, it looks like the upcoming Ford Focus RS is already in prototype chassis testing stage.
Yes, the body shell and exhaust tips are more or less ST, but some tell-tale signs don't lie: that big rear wing, those ginormous air intakes, the reworked front fascia design. Even the suspension on this prototype RS is slightly lower the Focus ST, while body roll is kept to a minimum round the tight bends of the Ring.
Ford is definitely preparing something really special with the upcoming Focus RS. Four-piston brakes are also on the menu and are certain to provide more stopping power than the single-piston ones fitted to the Focus ST. At the present moment, we're pretty sure the production-ready version of the next Focus RS will come with front-wheel drive, 19-inch alloys and some 350 ponies from a 2.3L EcoBoost four-pot shared with the all-new Stang.
All in all, the 2016 Ford Focus RS shapes up to be the hottest hot hatch ever made by the Blue Oval.
Regardless of how, the wait will soon come to an end according to some reports and solid proof as well. Some voices hint that we'll get a new Ford Focus RS as early as this October (at the 2014 Paris Motor Show), while the solid proof is represented by the multiple times our carparazzi spied test mules of the damn thing. With the latest batch of pics provided, it looks like the upcoming Ford Focus RS is already in prototype chassis testing stage.
Yes, the body shell and exhaust tips are more or less ST, but some tell-tale signs don't lie: that big rear wing, those ginormous air intakes, the reworked front fascia design. Even the suspension on this prototype RS is slightly lower the Focus ST, while body roll is kept to a minimum round the tight bends of the Ring.
Ford is definitely preparing something really special with the upcoming Focus RS. Four-piston brakes are also on the menu and are certain to provide more stopping power than the single-piston ones fitted to the Focus ST. At the present moment, we're pretty sure the production-ready version of the next Focus RS will come with front-wheel drive, 19-inch alloys and some 350 ponies from a 2.3L EcoBoost four-pot shared with the all-new Stang.
All in all, the 2016 Ford Focus RS shapes up to be the hottest hot hatch ever made by the Blue Oval.
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