Photo: Andrei Tobosaru
Since February 2018, the rumor mill started spewing out what ifs about the next generation of the Focus RS. The Ford Motor Company is coy on details for the time being, but given that the Focus ST has been upgraded to the 2.3-liter EcoBoost, electrification is more or less a certainty for the hot hatchback.
A Dutch motoring publication made a point for 48-volt mild hybridization and 400 horsepower, a powertrain that would be centered around the four-cylinder EcoBoost that’s also available in the Mustang. Such an output would help Ford Performance catch up with the A 45 S 4Matic+ from Mercedes-AMG even though the two couldn’t be more different in terms of pricing and plushness.
Car Magazine adds fuel to the fire with a rendering of the 2021 model year Focus RS along with something that appears to become a trend in the automotive industry. Instead of a driveshaft sending half of the suck-squeeze-bang-blow to the rear axle, Ford might be working with GKN for an electrified rear axle.
The automotive components supplier already has a solution in the guise of the eTwinsterX, which incorporates Twinster torque vectoring with an electric motor and a two-speed transmission. This combo is good for up to 155 miles per hour (250 km/h), which means that the Focus RS will be limited to that velocity unless the engineers program the e-axle to shut down at high speeds.
On the downside, the Blue Oval hot hatchback with an electrified rear axle would limit the tuning potential of the Focus RS. Calibrating the eTwinsterX in tune with the modifications brought to the EcoBoost by the aftermarket would be extremely difficult even to the most tech-savvy among us, and worse still, these mods would void the manufacturer’s warranty. Given how many problems the FoRS had from the get-go without any tuning of the 2.3-liter engine, such an overtaking would pose more problems than thrills for both the owner of the Focus RS.
On an ending note, could the newcomer be unveiled sometime in 2020 for the 2021 model year? Based on the market launches of the Focus, ST-Line, and ST with either the EcoBoost or EcoBlue, that’s very likely.
Car Magazine adds fuel to the fire with a rendering of the 2021 model year Focus RS along with something that appears to become a trend in the automotive industry. Instead of a driveshaft sending half of the suck-squeeze-bang-blow to the rear axle, Ford might be working with GKN for an electrified rear axle.
The automotive components supplier already has a solution in the guise of the eTwinsterX, which incorporates Twinster torque vectoring with an electric motor and a two-speed transmission. This combo is good for up to 155 miles per hour (250 km/h), which means that the Focus RS will be limited to that velocity unless the engineers program the e-axle to shut down at high speeds.
On the downside, the Blue Oval hot hatchback with an electrified rear axle would limit the tuning potential of the Focus RS. Calibrating the eTwinsterX in tune with the modifications brought to the EcoBoost by the aftermarket would be extremely difficult even to the most tech-savvy among us, and worse still, these mods would void the manufacturer’s warranty. Given how many problems the FoRS had from the get-go without any tuning of the 2.3-liter engine, such an overtaking would pose more problems than thrills for both the owner of the Focus RS.
On an ending note, could the newcomer be unveiled sometime in 2020 for the 2021 model year? Based on the market launches of the Focus, ST-Line, and ST with either the EcoBoost or EcoBlue, that’s very likely.
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