Road Hard
Ford puts the Focus RS to the test in the mountains and the desert
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
Next spring the Focus RS will hit dealer showrooms in North American for the first time. The all-wheel-drive, 350-horsepower 2016 model will arrive a bit earlier in Europe, so this exciting car will be on the public roads before you know it. To stoke the passions of enthusiasts across the globe, Ford created a documentary series titled Rebirth of an Icon to give us an inside look at this car’s development. Today the third installment of the series hit the web.
In this episode viewers are along for the ride as Ford engineers put the pre-production Focus RS through grueling drives in the mountains and in the desert. If you’ve seen those spy photos of camouflaged Fords and wondered what they were up to, this video gives you a glimpse into to just how much work is involved in bringing these vehicles to market.
You can watch the latest episode right here…
The previous two episodes detailed the goals for the car as well as the design and crash-testing of the vehicle. In the coming weeks the series will continue with an episode each week and they will play out as follows:
- Episode 4: Test-track trials—Ken Block heads for Ford’s top-secret test facility, and indulges in some “hooningâ€
- Episode 5: Arctic extremes—Winter testing in Sweden, and the team is under pressure to improve performance
- Episode 6: Power struggle—It’s all about performance, as the Ford manufacturing plant in Saarlouis, Germany, gears up for production
- Episode 7: Close scrutiny—The day of the critical sign-off drive follows Block’s headline appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
- Episode 8: Final chapter—It’s time for the nail-biting management review
We will keep sharing each episode here so you won’t miss out.