autoevolution
 

Ford Focus RS Activates Drift Mode on Nurburgring

The Nurburgring officials don't want you to drift on track days. Meanwhile, Ford says its drift mode is only to be used on the track. Screw it, we're going sideways!
Ford Focus RS Activates Drift Mode on Nurburgring 2 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Ford Focus RS Activates Drift Mode on Nurburgring
The cold and rain are making the Nurburgring a little bit more slippery than usual, making laps dangerous but reducing tire wear while drifting. One Focus RS owner from Britain decided to take advantage of the conditions and unleashed his tail-happy hot hatch.

The Blue Oval's hot hatch became a global legend almost overnight, and that's mainly due to its awesome AWD system. There is another hatchback that can do poweslides, the RS3, however the one Ford made can send more than the usual 50% of the available torque to the rear just from the push of a button.

Engaging drift mode is very easy because it's routed through the Drive Mode button next to the shifter. You press it until you reach the correct setting, displayed between the dials. All the settings change in accordance, so stability control intervenes less often and the AWD gains its rear bias.

You nock it down a gear, come into the corner hot and give it some gas. Like we said, other cars in this segment can occasionally slide the tail. However, the Focus RS will even let you do donuts in first or second gear.

Our hat is off to Ford for doing something different. Of course, we can't forget that it's stiffly spring and manual-only. For some people, this means the Focus RS is not a daily, but something you whip out on special occasions... like when it's raining hard at the Nurburgring.

Under the hood is a Cosworth-tuned 2.3-liter turbo engine that shouts its intentions. Thanks to its 350 HP and available launch control, launch control, this is faster than a Lamborghini Countach was back in its day. So don't treat this as just another Nurburgring sighting.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories