Sure Thing

The forthcoming Focus RS will definitely produce 350 horsepower

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

If you’ve been following the gradual flow of information about the forthcoming 2016 Focus RS as closely as we have, you know that Ford recently said the car accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds thanks to a projected 350 horsepower. Well, it is now confirmed that the Focus RS power rating is indeed 350 and coming along for the ride is a matching 350 lb-ft of torque.

Pushing its 2.3-liter engine to such impressive output is a new low-inertia twin-scroll turbocharger featuring a larger compressor wheel that Ford says produces more airflow and power throughout the rpm range. It tops out at 23.2 pounds of boost to get the job done from off idle all the way up to 6,800 rpm. The midrange of this potent engine is described as “chunky,” and we can’t wait to see what that feels like.

See that performance in action in this commercial (a rarity for Ford Performance vehicles) that is part of Ford’s “By Design” campaign…

With 350 lb-ft of  grunt, you shouldn’t stall the Focus RS as you blast away from a stop. However, if you do, Ford is debuting a new technology on this car that will save you a little embarrassment. It’s called Stall Recovery, and it will automatically restart the car if you slip up.

“We knew we wanted to put start-stop technology on the RS,” Tyrone Johnson, engineering and vehicle manager, Ford Performance Europe, explained. “So we said, ‘What if we went one step further, and controlled for engine stall at launch using the same technology?’ Well, that’s exactly what we did and it’s just as fast as our start-stop technology.”

So, we are still learning something cool almost every week about Ford Performance’s hottest hatch. While we wait on the next tidbit, you can brush up on the history of the Focus RS and many of the details about the latest model using this interactive infographic…

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