Spoke to a ford employee about RS

[ThunDerST]

Originally Posted by delta focus

Yup, the current RS is FWD, not 4WD.. but I did find this tasty little tidbit of juicy curiosity while I was looking...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/nex...wd-and-350-hp/

The rumors around the rumor mill are that the next super-hot version of the Ford Focus – the RS – will get 4WD or AWD and 350 horsepower from a six cylinder engine. If you've been following the development of the RS (and as North Americans, you probably haven't), the story until now was that it would be 300 hp, from a highly tuned 5-cylinder engine, and front wheel drive with a trick diff to tame torque steer. But the latest info seems to take that a step further, with a blogger claiming he has actually seen the rear differential on the RS test car at the Nurburgring confirming its 4 wheel power. Yours truly still doubts the 6-cylinder engine for packaging and weight reasons, but only time, spy shots, and "accidental" PR leaks will tell the full story.


mmm tasty

I think the one that hasn't been following the RS' development is you my friend...
that article is from 2008, the picture is from a PRE FACELIFT focus with a st front, and it is in fact, as ghiafan already said, a test mule for the development for the CURRENT RS, and it was originally tested with AWD in mind, but finally decided that the FWD version did better because of the weight it saved and the revoknuckle system..

in reality i think that it is more probable that ford makes a sport version of the fiesta, because after thinking about it, the focus will retire from WRC after 2010 season, when FIA's regulations will change, and the Fiesta will take the RS WRC's place, since ford gets most of its tech from rallying, i supposed the next ST and RS are going to be fiestas...
and if youthink about it a little more.. the focus is intended to go upscale in the vehicle lineup.. it makes sense that the car that takes its place also takes the "responsability" of being the sport-compact..
i guess only time will tell

[SpeedOften]

The first four cylinder, a 2.0L single turbo with roughly 230 horsepower arrives next year on an as yet unnamed model

October issue of popular science, Lawrence Ulrich was the writer.

Now.. this confused me.. do they mean that it's a brand new model that doesn't have an actual name yet or that they jsut haven't put out anyhting about that car that is going to have that engine yet???? Like the Focus???

[delta focus]

Originally Posted by kylesvt720

I seriously doubt this. The likely engine for the Focus, if we get a performance variant, is the 2.0L Eco-Boost that was released by Ford a month or two ago. Numbers around 240 hp/tq. A peformance variant could get the boost turned up, and be more like 260hp.

Originally Posted by ThunDerST

I think the one that hasn't been following the RS' development is you my friend...
that article is from 2008,

clearly you guys missed my post right before that one... i said that the ecoboost 4 would be the go to engine for ford on this side of the pond.. and i know what the rs is i just found that little article while looking to prove that the rs is currently 2wd... that would be so awesome though if it were to happen

wishful thinking, anyone? come on, you know you want to dream

[kylesvt720]

Originally Posted by delta focus

clearly you guys missed my post right before that one... i said that the ecoboost 4 would be the go to engine for ford on this side of the pond.. and i know what the rs is i just found that little article while looking to prove that the rs is currently 2wd... that would be so awesome though if it were to happen

wishful thinking, anyone? come on, you know you want to dream

You can dream, but go look at the 3.5L V6, and then try to explain to someone why Ford would put it in a Focus, it would be absolutely crammed in, they'd probably have to move the firewall... Now try to add all of the piping for a twin turbo setup.

[delta focus]

Originally Posted by kylesvt720

You can dream, but go look at the 3.5L V6, and then try to explain to someone why Ford would put it in a Focus, it would be absolutely crammed in, they'd probably have to move the firewall... Now try to add all of the piping for a twin turbo setup.

my dream would involve a mid-engine twin turbo set up

I am plenty ok with the ecoboost 4 - I've heard it rated for a reliable 270+ hp, possibly north of 300, some else up there ^ said that too... and you know what they say, the more hearsay there is the more likely it will come true

I

[GhiaFan]

Couple Ford links talking about EcoBoost and Fords priorities using EcoBoost.
http://media.ford.com/images/10031/EcoBoost_Global.pdf

Live Chat with Brett Hinds, Advance Engine Design
http://ford.digitalsnippets.com/2009...r-brett-hinds/

And here is a small blurb from AutoCar article, re the 2.0EB T hp #s, which are listed as BHP not HP as I listed above (sorry bout that)

"The new Focus will be powered by a new range of ‘Ecoboost’ downsized turbocharged petrol engines.
The plan is for all our petrol cars to have smaller-capacity, direct-injection turbocharged engines,” said one source. “We especially have to meet the average CO2 target figure that has been set in the European Union, but downsized turbocharged engines are already proving popular in North America as well.

One casualty of the move to greater fuel efficiency will be the five-cylinder Volvo-derived engine that powers today’s Focus ST. The next generation of the model is likely to be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot, which can develop as much as 276bhp."
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...-Focus/244289/

[Nik00117]

I have not heard anything about any RS coming to the states, and I work as a Ford Dealer so I would assume I would know about things like this ahead of the majority of the population.