Focus, guys... Hot Ford heading for South Africa

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"There has been a great deal of demand for the Ford Focus RS," says Ben Pillay, Ford Marketing Manager. "It's an iconic model and we are very excited that South African customers, who are so passionate about performance, will now have the opportunity to own one."

In keeping with its heritage, RS is an even more performance-oriented vehicle than the Focus ST, developed in every detail with on-track performance of equal importance to on-road behaviour. An exhaustive set of individual criteria was created for every aspect of the car's performance, dynamics and durability, a process similar in scope to that required for a whole new carline.

Focus on bold, aggressive design

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Powered by a 2.5-litre Duratec 5-cylinder engine, the Ford Focus RS is one of the fastest hot hatches ever with a sub-6 second 0-100km/h sprint time. Mated to a 6-speed, close ratio manual transmission, the exceptional engine delivers 224kW at 6000rpm and has a mighty 440Nm of torque all the way from 2250 to 4500rpm.

In design as in concept, the Ford Focus RS is inspired by Ford's World Rally Championship success and this is most obvious in its large, gloss-black front trapezoidal air intake, creating an immediate visual link to the Focus World Rally Car - design for the road, true to motor sport principles.

"The 224kW Focus RS offers performance to rival many sports cars and has a bold, aggressive design, inspired by Ford's rally heritage. It's a Ford like no other and we are eager to introduce it to the local fans," concludes Pillay.

Final arrival dates and price had not been established at the time of going to press.

Focus in action