rich a

rs is being held back by a crash test which ruptures the fuel tank..not good

don't think rs is 4wheel drive, only on later model

rich

[Edited by rich a - 6/4/2002 12:32:14 PM]

logiclee

Nigel,

It is too expensive to make the current Focus chassis 4WD.
The Focus Cosworth 4X4 will not appear until after the next generation Focus has been launched.

The next generation Focus is a more modular design and will come in 4 wheel drive and mini mpv varients.

The 2 wheel drive 220bhp Focus will be Impreza money though so I expect the Cosworth to be £30k which will make it look expensive along side the sti and evo.

I wouldn't rule out the front wheel drive RS yet. Technology is moving very fast, I had a drive in the Alfa 156 GTA recently, 250bhp and FWD, absolutly awesome, no torque steer and plenty of grip. If ford can do something similar with the RS Focus and with 2 wheel drive transmission losses it could be a very reel rival to a UK Scoob.

Lee

[Edited by logiclee - 6/4/2002 2:12:43 PM]

nigelward

I think the Focus RS is a real contender it may not have the ultimate traction of 4wd but at least Ford are putting some proper brakes on it which could make all the difference, and along with the LSD, for around £20K seems pretty good.

It will be interesting to see how it compares to the CTR and the WRX as I'm sure when it is out these are the cars that it will get road tested against.

Thinking back I do remember reading about the chassis thing now, designation for the new chassis is P1 ().

I guess £30K sounds expensive but depends what Ford produces for the money. If Ford manage to meet the targets of 300bhp, a kerb weight of around 1400kg, and an electronic diff it maybe worth it.

But hey by 2005 there will be a new Evo and STI so rally-nutters will have never had it better .


[Edited by nigelward - 6/4/2002 5:39:57 PM]

rich a

forget all about the baby rs focus coming out in october with 217bhp,its to sloooow.Wait until they bring out the 300bhp 4wheel drive focus reviewed in autocar mag looks like a rival for subaru and mitsubishi

rich a

forget all about the baby rs focus coming out in october with 217bhp,its to sloooow.Wait until they bring out the 300bhp 4wheel drive focus reviewed in autocar mag looks like a rival for subaru and mitsubishi

rich a

doh double post

rich

nigelward

double topic double post, well impressive

Hopefully Autocars computer generated images are a little closer to the real Focus Cosworth than those that were published for the new Impreza.

Didn't realise that the Focus RS had been delayed again, this will end up being one of the most thoroughly engineered cars when it arrives, Cosworth could be out before it at this rate.

Nigel

Richie1

Is it still the chassis/4WD problems that are holding the Cosworth back ??

nigelward

Note sure about delays to the Cosworth, but I think one of the problems was that the Cosworth would come out at about the same time as the face lifted Focus was released (the RS was originally supposed to be out July 2001).

So by delaying it a little it would at least have a longer run with the 'current' look of models lower down the range and would not need expensive re-engineering.

Fords financial results may have also had a bearing on the timetable as well.

nigelward

Yep, RS is FWD, and with 217bhp going through only the front wheels it should be rather nippy once it is off the line.

Paul_M

It's got a quaife diff to give it excellent traction considering it's 2WD. Apparently McRae test drove it during development and was mighty impressed with the grip.

CC

I've read the article too, very interesting reading.

It will be nice to see a Cosworth badged road car in production again....and with 300bhp as standard , and if it as anywhere near tuneable as the Sierra/Escort Cosworths then we're in for something special.

skiddusmarkus

I read it will have very strong internals as standard so no doubt,within a copule of months there'll be 450bhp versions tearing up the tarmac.

beefola

Focus Cossie looks absolutely wicked in Autocar, its just a pity that it'll probably have a Group 20 insurance rating, no matter what Safety/Anti-theft things they put on it. Bleedin' insurance C!!!ts.

TIM_H

Also consider that the last Sapphire 4x4's that rolled out were around the £27,000 mark!!!!

so £20k might not be too bad.

BTW, IMO the first one'll be badged an RS, as I don't know whether Ford have asked Cosworth to work on these engines.

Tim

mk2escortcossie

The first ones, think only 200 being made are badged as RS and are using a Duratec engine, the Cosworth should be next year.

nigelward

The Cosworth will be out after the facelifted Focus is released in 2004, current predictions are 2005.

logiclee

The Cosworth 4X4 Focus will be 2005 and it will also use a 2.0 Duratech based engine same as all other current petrol 2.0l Ford Focuses. The internals are expected to receive strenghthening as per the Focus WRC.

The old Cosworth Lumps won't pass Euro 4 emissions and current noise/vibration/harshness standards so won't be used.

The WRC focus engine isn't desingned for more than 350bhp though so don't expect it to be as strong as the old Coswoth engines that were designed for over 500bhp.

Lee

CrisPDuk

Lee, I don't think the original Cosworth motors were actually designed to handle 500bhp as such, as with the Skyline they were based on an old school heavily over-engineered block (RS2000 Pinto, heavily reinforced, with a posh head and a big fan).
Modern Cad design technics means such over engineering is very rare these days,so unfortunately the prodigious outputs of both the Cossie and the Skyline are now likely to be confined to the history books.