The 8th and final episode in the Ford Focus RS saga gives us more insight into what it took for Product Development Chief Raj Nair to approve this version of the car.
At the end of the previous episode, Nair was extremely displeased with a couple of characteristics of the pre-production RS. Specifically, he didn’t appreciate how the car behaved when in Normal mode and he certainly seemed to be unimpressed with the brakes.
Thankfully for Focus RS fans everywhere, the team managed to set the car up just right for Nair to play with around Grattan Raceway.
After arriving on location in a red Ford Explorer, Nair put on his racing gear and even gave the audience a “nice” little reality game show moment when he paused a little before letting his final verdict be heard.
The fact that so much work went into making this car drive the way Ford wanted it to drive, must be reassuring to all potential customers. The Focus RS is much more than just another hot hatch, and power isn’t always the solution to all your problems – you genuinely need a car that handles well (in all driving modes) and feels top notch, and not just one that goes really fast in a straight line.
Now, if Ford really is to move ahead with an even more powerful version of the Focus RS, work is going to get really busy for these guys again. On the other hand, they’ll probably have a blast trying to get this car to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.0 seconds or less.
Luckily, the RS team already knows a guy who’s got a lot of experience with really powerful and lightweight Fords. Yeah, talking about Ken Block here.