It’s the end of an era. We can reveal the new Ford Focus RS is likely to be the last model to wear the firm’s legendary performance badge.
The current financial crisis and future emissions laws mean developing such high performance petrol cars in future is no longer viable for the company.
From Autoblog
When Ford began laying out its plan to build European product over here, Ford’s Louisville assembly plant was tipped to build the Euro Focus. But according to sources who spoke to Louisville’s NBC affiliate Wave3, the plant will actually be getting the Ford Kuga. It’s a coup for the plant’s roughly 3,000 employees, who currently build the slow-selling Explorer and its siblings, to now have an undeniably anticipated vehicle to look forward to.
Source: AutoExpress
Here are the pictures that prove the Focus is on style at Ford like never before! It’s a new three-door Coupé version of the blue oval’s family hatchback – and it has VW’s Scirocco and Renault’s Mégane Coupe in its sights.As we revealed in Issue 1,037, Ford has ambitious plans for the next-generation Focus range, with the first variant, the C-MAX MPV, due in 2010. According to our sources at sister magazine Auto Bild, the firm is working on a bold new look – and this Coupé will be the flagship.
For months, Ford Motor Co. and Magna International Inc. had been talking about an electric vehicle. In September, executives at the Canadian supplier told Ford they had a surprise. They pulled up in Dearborn in a Ford Focus they had bought and converted to battery power on their dime, without Ford’s knowledge.
Fans of Ford’s American SVT and European ST and RS models will have plenty to look forward to in the next few years. As part of the company’s One Ford program to consolidate its platforms and designs, SVT and TeamRS have been brought together under a single organization led by Jost Capito. Earlier this week, we [Autoblog] sat down for lunch with Jamal Hameedi and Hermann Salenbauch to discuss what is going on and what we can expect to see in the next few years. Read the rest of this entry ?
Ford has started production of it’s Focus RS in it’s Saarlouis plant in Germany – along side the regular three-door, five-door & wagon hatch, along with the ST (XR5 Turbo) model. Ford has even hired a ’special unit’ for the production of the RS, to specifically install a number of unique mechanical, exterior and interior design details.
Source: Automotive News via Autoblog
Even if the Lincoln Concept C from the Detroit Auto Show never makes it to production, its powertrain could find its way into FoMoCo’s small cars. While the first application of Ford’s new EcoBoost series of engines will be a 3.5L V6 in the 2009 Ford Flex, the technology might make the most sense in a much smaller and more efficient package.
For instance, in the Lincoln Concept C, the 1.6-liter turbocharged, direct injected four-cylinder offers up 180 hp and an equal amount of torque while returning a (theoreticall) 43 mpg on the highway. This powerplant could be mated with Ford’s PowerShift dual clutch gearbox in an uplevel version of the next-gen Focus subcompact that’s expected to debut in 2010, offering a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency over the outgoing 2.0L four.
For ~ $56,000 AUD, you can buy some pretty hot metal – think Ford FG Falcon XR6 Turbo or Holden VE Commodore SS. You could even opt for a FPV or HSV. Heck! Even an entry level German is in your price range! But, if you are lucky enough to live in England (or at least Europe), there’s a new very fast kid on the block – the Ford Focus RS – all for just £24,995 or about €27,700…
So we all thought the Kermit-green Focus RS looked the biz? Well, have we got a treat for you today!
