just spoted you are in Milan, lucky bugger!!

 

I am correct in thinking it doesn't have traction control aren't I ?

It'll be undriveable.

Gary

 

Deposit is refundable after test drive of demo model due in early march ..... no traction control, apparently they got around the traction issue with "special" setup of suspension and a trick diff set up, ala Integra R and to a less extent Fiat Turbo. Well, also the F2 rally cars have way more power than that and fwd no trac control, and they seem to manage getting enough traction to beat the WRCs on tarmac.....

wall

[This message has been edited by wall (edited 21 November 2000).]

 

A Milan ford dealer has just informed me of the official specs performance figures for the FOCUS RS, from an upcoming brochure which will be in the dealerships europe-wide in a few weeks.
Here are the figures, compared with MY00 Turbo and MY01 WRX.

RS MY00 WRX
0-60 5.7 5.5 5.7
30-50 3.3 3.5 4.0
50-70 3.1 3.3 3.6
70-90 4.1 4.2 4.6
Top speed 151 144 143

220hp, 4-pot Brembos, Recaro racing buckets, 1230kg, etc etc etc. My deposit is down, delivery March-April. Anyone want an Elise 111S around February?

wall


[This message has been edited by wall (edited 21 November 2000).]

 

hmm since when have manufacturers figures been 100% accurate? Very risky if u ask me - buying a car based on these...

 

Your buying it without driving it ?

Surely you can back out if you drive it and it's pants ?

Gary

 

And its only front wheel drive and hits sixty in 5.7? Me thinks you will spend most of your time goin round corners with smoke pouring from the inside front.Ever drive the Rover 220 turbo coupe.

 

hehehe

Dry the UK isnt it, NOT!

Understear here we come, traction control anyone? LOL

 

I agree with you on the 220 Coupe!! Anybody driven a Fiat 20V Turbo Coupe?? This also has 220BHP but apparently has some trick differential to help get the power down. Hate to say this but the Fiat Coupe also beat an Impreza turbo in the Autocar 0-100-0 test.

 

Will be worth waiting (although it could be a long wait) for the AWD Focus Cossie.

 

errm, ever heard of slicks???

plus, they use traction control on F2 cars, have done for years, SEAT and Renault got it to work first in the BRC.

It is going to be a good car, no question, but it will be a bitch in the wet, personally, i would hate it.

 

but it's a ford......

 

But it's a Ford.....!!
My mom and girlfriend drive Fords....!!
Seriously though, it's a Ford.
Imagine the understeer. Wow.
Flippin' heck.

Neil.

ps. my old Astra GTE16v could hold it's own against a UK scoob in the dry in a straight line, but try keeping up round an island or other twisty bits - no hope.

 

J-D - i drove a fiat coupe 16v turbo, found it had no traction and the abs didnt work when it was upside-down!

 

Well Im going to go for a different tack to the "I havent driven it but it's obviously crap as its not a Scooby"
Wall...Nice one cant wait to see how it compares on a real road! as you said you can always get your money back!! ps do you have any idea what it looks like?

 

yeah but as I have said...IT IS A FORD, no one wants a ford do they!

 

on the aspect of the FORD and FIAT, firstly i recently bought a P1 which is superb in a straight line and especially good with its back end out in the wet.It is a little bit quicker than my old car which was a 285bhp gti-r (4.8 0-60 164mph recorded )so kind of quick.As for the FIAT my mate had one until he came out with me one day ENOUGH SAID!!!!!(autocar ??????? come on ??? who????)
As for the FORD your figures are with one person ( two with scooby figures )in car and on very very hot sticky tarmac ( works wonders ) this car was never going to be produced until ford lost so much money in the uk that they had to do something hence your new FORD FOCUS RS.

Tread carfully my friend

 

Subverval,

Not driven a Ford lately then. Modern Ford chassis are first class and build quality is much better than Subaru.
If they could just sort out the reliability and dealer network.

Wall,
Hope your roads are better than ours.
Fast front wheel drive cars can post some incredible times due to lower transmission losses but these are on smooth dry tarmac in a straight line. What about wet, greasy, chipping covered and potholed UK roads with strange cambers?

Had a Focus before the Scoob and had the Traction Control system on a lot of the time with 130bhp through 205/50 ZR 16's !!!!!

Lee

 

Hey Mr Wall the Peugeot 306 and Citroen Xsara F2 cars had rather brutal sounding but effective traction control systems.You are gonna get through some serious tyres mate.

 

Hey Mr Wall,

I see that BMW are going to produce an 'M' version of the compact 3 series.

220BHP rear wheel drive non Turbo.

Surley this will dick a Ford!

[This message has been edited by wrx.co.uk (edited 21 November 2000).]

 

You scooby owners may slag the RS focus off before one has even blown your doors off, but whoever buys the focus is making the right decision, at least it doesnt look like a 1.3 corolla, and if you are thinking for the long term, the focus will hold its value better, so in ten years time, its owner wont be kicking the windows out and driving around Hensford raceway (if it lasts that long), unlike its scooby rival which will be worth less than an X reg XR3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

God loves an optimist SpankyRS.

 

well if the traction fears come true I'll get the deposit back and probably look at an STI VII ..... but if they get around it ala IntegraR I think the Focus will look better then the Imp, be nicer inside, go just as hard if not harder on dry tarmac, and be not too far behind on wet (and in Italy it's not as wet as the uk ).

wall

 

jason b,

You think that Ford have lost so much monry that they thought they had to produce a Focus RS? What, to make a profit?

Nope, ain't gonna happen. As an ex-Ford employee (in the finance & planning area) I can safely say that Ford lose money on every decent car they make. Not that they make any money on the bread and butter cars, mind you, but they lose an even bigger packet on the ST200 and Racing Puma, and lost a gargantuan shedload on the Escort Cosworth.

The reason? Research & development and short production runs. The Focus RS won't ever sell in decent numbers, and certainly won't cover the costs of a trick diff, turbo engine, and all the various addenda required to uprate it.

The reason such cars are produced is either to homologate a racing car, or for marketing reasons ('halo' effect). They almost always cost more to produce than they can ever be sold for.

As for whether the Focus should have 4wd - of course it should, but the word has it that this would cost approx £30k just to make, and there's no way the market is going to stand that sort of price.

Nick

 

Have to say that Ford have improved considerably over the last few years. I used to have a Mk11 1.4S fiesta as a second car, which was a real nail, but a couple of years ago I replaced it with a 1.25 LX and have to say how impressed I am with it. Its got a great little chassis and the engine is really zingy, but the big plus is that it feels solid and it takes a lot of punishment from both me (a couple of "over enthusiastic" moments in the peak district) and my missus (attempted to use a Sierra as a braking aid!) but it still doesn't rattle or squeek (60K miles). Have to say that the dealer, TC Harrison (Pride Park) have also been excellent.

So would I consider a Focus RS, nope I think I'll wait to see if they bring out a "cossie" 4wd version.

DazW.

 

ford's hold value...are you mad! - appart from the odd exception they go down faster than a £2 *****!

 

Wall, what gears are these times recorded in? Or are they through the gears times?

Otherwise it all may depend on gearing. How about a 0-100, 30-70 through gears etc?

 

Here is an idea, when you get this Focus RS , why not bring it along to one of the scoobynet (mixed) track days, then we can see how it compares to the likes of the Impreza & Evos..

Proof will be in the pudding

 

DrEvil, would love to join but I'm in Italy. However having had a Turbo MY98 and then an STI V in the past, and currently an Elise 111S, I think I'll be able to give its performance a fair assessment .

wall

 

Wall,

It aint that far to drive, and on the plus side, the trip up to the UK will help the running in of the car

Well, if anyone on this BBS gets one, I expect to see them at one of the track days once its run in.. it would be interesting to see it...

Oh, on this note, EVO has an article on it this month (not sure if thats been mentioned already, probably!).