Ford Focus RS Could Go On Sale in US for $35,500 [Video]

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Ford released Wednesday specifications for its newest hatchback and god is in the details.

The 2016 Ford Focus RS, which will be delivered to European customers in early 2016, will have 345 horsepower ( we already knew that), 324 pound-feet of torque (we knew that, too), 347 pound-feet of torque during 15 seconds of overboost (oh?); a top speed of 165 mph and a manufacturer-quoted 0-62 mph time of 4.7 seconds.

The Focus RS will sport “Launch Control” and “Drift Mode” buttons because you’ve earned that right, America. The Focus RS will go on sale in the U.S. in Spring 2016.

Ford in Europe announced that the Focus RS would start at €39,000 ($43,910), or roughly €10,000 ($11,250) more than its Focus RS. If the Focus RS in the States is $11,000 more dear than our Focus ST, initial prices for the uber hatch should start around $35,500.

(Thanks to bball40dtw for pointing out the Focus RS is on the configurator now with a price of $35,730 + destination).

Ford detailed its 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine lifted from the Mustang, but tuned for the Focus RS. In addition to a bigger boost that delivers 10-percent more horsepower than in the pony car, the Focus RS will also breathe more freely with a better air intake and large-bore exhaust in the rear.

The engine reaches peak output at 5,900 rpm, according to Ford, and is limited to 6,800 rpm. The Focus RS will only come with a manual transmission.

To manage all of its fury, the Focus RS will use electronically controlled clutch packs to manage power front-to-rear, and also side-to-side on the rear axle, to complement the car’s brake-controlled torque-vectoring system.

The Focus RS is one of 12 performance Ford cars that the company will release by 2020. The list also includes the Ford GT, Shelby GT350R, F-150 Raptor and Fiesta ST.

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • APaGttH APaGttH on Sep 16, 2015

    That is before the $20K in ADM.

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    • Bball40dtw Bball40dtw on Sep 17, 2015

      @blppt The Focus SVT, unlike the Focus ST, was not A-plan eligible (no SVT cars were), and Ford had little to no incentives on them. It was a great car at the time though.

  • IHateCars IHateCars on Sep 17, 2015

    I'm not in the market for a hot hatch either, but if I was, this would be in the running. Good on Ford for offering performance vehicles for the enthusiasts. They bet and won big on the Raptor, so I'm anxiously awaiting the '17 to see if it's worthy enough to replace my '12. A little leery of the twin turbo 3.5 and 10 speed, but if it turns my crank I'll be trading...

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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