Cool as Ice

Watch Ford test the Focus RS on a frozen lake in Sweden

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Yes, the forthcoming Focus RS will come packing 350 horsepower. Yes, Ken Block consulted on its development. And, yes, it has a Drift Mode that will let you slide the car around. However, when you use Drift Mode, it probably still won’t be as much fun as Ford’s engineers had doing their cold-weather “testing” of Ford’s hottest hatch.

Ford’s eight-part documentary series, Rebirth of an Icon, follows the development of the 2016 Focus RS. The latest installment concentrates on the engineering team striving to improve the car’s performance and seeing how it holds up to extreme cold temperatures. To do so, they headed to Sweden to slide it around a frozen lake. That sounds more like fun than testing to us, but somebody has to do it.

You can watch the latest episode right here…

The previous episodes detailed the goals for the car; the design and crash testing of the vehicle; its preliminary road testing, and some track testing by none other than Ken Block. In the coming weeks the series will continue with an episode each week and they will play out as follows:

• 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

And, don’t fret, we will keep sharing the episodes here on the SVTP Front Page so you won’t miss one.

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