The man in charge of it all will be Jost Capito: he will head the RS and SVT divisions from his office in Dearborn, Michigan. Engineers from both “camps” will collaborate to bring future Ford performance products to a common standard. However, each group will focus on the local products, such as the upcoming 550 HP Shelby Mustang GT500 coupe in the U.S. and the Focus RS hot hatch in Europe.
“Whether a vehicle wears an SVT badge in America or the RS badge in Europe, the drivers should know they're in a Ford performance vehicle,” Derrick Kuzak, Ford's vice president and head of global product development was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.
Company officials have also said that this move will allow sport vehicles to be introduced on multiple markets with minimal efforts, but the executives failed to provide more specific details.
Recently, RS division has announced that it is working on a Clubsport version of the Focus RS, which will bring a 50 HP premium to the car’s existing 300 horses. The upcoming car will also offer lightweight components, adjusted suspension and will wear new rubber. To tease the enthusiasts, a preliminary 0 to 100 km/h figure has been released: 5 seconds flat - this would send the extreme hatch straight into the German powerwars acceleration territory.
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