Photo: Andrei Tobosaru for Ford Romania
Ford doesn’t love the Focus too much, or so it seems if we take a look back at the last few years of the compact car. Not only did the Blue Oval discontinue the nameplate in the United States where SUVs and trucks reign supreme, but the European model won’t get the Focus RS treatment we’ve been waiting for so long.
Two months before the previous generation went out of production, a Dutch motor publication let it slip that Ford may be developing a 400-horsepower powertrain of the mild-hybrid variety. Subsequent reports suggest the same outcome for the 2.3-liter EcoBoost, yet the 2021 Focus RS program has been ditched.
Car Magazine received confirmation from the Blue Oval’s headquarters in Europe, namely “we are not planning another RS version of the Focus.” The reasons Ford has canceled the 400-hp hot hatchback are pretty obvious.
Not only did the EU chance the emissions standards, but “the increased CO2 taxation and the high cost of developing an RS with some form of electrification for a relatively low volume of vehicles” doesn’t make too much financial sense. Mercedes-AMG disagrees if you remember that the A 45 soldiers on as an uber hatchback.
Looking at the bigger picture, it was only natural for the Ford Motor Company to scrap the Focus RS. The Dearborn-based automaker restructured the European division in order to cut costs, and back in March 2020, chief exec Jim Hackett made it clear that reducing costs is high on Ford’s priorities list. To understand how this cost-cutting plan works, remember that the Mustang pony car is produced in Michigan while the Mach-E Mustang electric crossover is manufactured in Mexico.
If it were to happen, the 2021 Ford Focus RS would’ve changed to an electric motor and a small lithium battery for e-AWD and shorts bursts of electric boost under hard acceleration. GKN – the company responsible for the Twinster twin-clutch system used by the previous model – was expected to supply the eTwinsterX electric rear axle for the 2021 Focus RS.
The eTwinsterX can handle up to 155 mph.
Car Magazine received confirmation from the Blue Oval’s headquarters in Europe, namely “we are not planning another RS version of the Focus.” The reasons Ford has canceled the 400-hp hot hatchback are pretty obvious.
Not only did the EU chance the emissions standards, but “the increased CO2 taxation and the high cost of developing an RS with some form of electrification for a relatively low volume of vehicles” doesn’t make too much financial sense. Mercedes-AMG disagrees if you remember that the A 45 soldiers on as an uber hatchback.
Looking at the bigger picture, it was only natural for the Ford Motor Company to scrap the Focus RS. The Dearborn-based automaker restructured the European division in order to cut costs, and back in March 2020, chief exec Jim Hackett made it clear that reducing costs is high on Ford’s priorities list. To understand how this cost-cutting plan works, remember that the Mustang pony car is produced in Michigan while the Mach-E Mustang electric crossover is manufactured in Mexico.
If it were to happen, the 2021 Ford Focus RS would’ve changed to an electric motor and a small lithium battery for e-AWD and shorts bursts of electric boost under hard acceleration. GKN – the company responsible for the Twinster twin-clutch system used by the previous model – was expected to supply the eTwinsterX electric rear axle for the 2021 Focus RS.
The eTwinsterX can handle up to 155 mph.
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