Automotive

Small tweaks make Focus RS even more of a giant killer

Small tweaks make Focus RS even more of a giant killer
Mountune has fettled the Ford Focus RS to 375 hp and 510 Nm
Mountune has fettled the Ford Focus RS to 375 hp and 510 Nm
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The Focus RS Mountune is powered by the same 2.3-liter EcoBoost as the base RS
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The Focus RS Mountune is powered by the same 2.3-liter EcoBoost as the base RS 
Under the skin of the Ford Focus RS, now capable of hitting 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds thanks to Mountune
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Under the skin of the Ford Focus RS, now capable of hitting 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds thanks to Mountune
The Focus RS has a suspension system designed to direct air over the suspension
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The Focus RS has a suspension system designed to direct air over the suspension
Under the skin of the Ford Focus RS
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Under the skin of the Ford Focus RS
Ford Performance has worked with Mountune to maintain the factory warranty
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Ford Performance has worked with Mountune to maintain the factory warranty
Plenty of attention has been paid to cooling the EcoBoost engine
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Plenty of attention has been paid to cooling the EcoBoost engine 
The Ford Focus RS gets on the move
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The Ford Focus RS gets on the move
The Focus RS Mountune is, according to Ford, quicker than a base 911
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The Focus RS Mountune is, according to Ford, quicker than a base 911
The Focus RS can send 70 percent of its power to the rear wheels
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The Focus RS can send 70 percent of its power to the rear wheels
The cabin of the Ford Focus RS is unchanged in Mountune trim
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The cabin of the Ford Focus RS is unchanged in Mountune trim
The changes drop the Focus RS' sprint time to 4.5 seconds
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The changes drop the Focus RS' sprint time to 4.5 seconds
Mountune has fettled the Ford Focus RS to 375 hp and 510 Nm
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Mountune has fettled the Ford Focus RS to 375 hp and 510 Nm
View gallery - 12 images

The Ford Focus RS is already a certified giant killer, but even giant killers can be made quicker. Not content with its work on the Fiesta ST, British tuning house Mountune has turned its hand to the hottest hatch in the Ford Performance stable, making it faster out of the blocks than a base Porsche 911 in the process.

Out of the factory, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost fitted in the Focus RS puts out a healthy 350 hp (261 kW) of power and 475 Nm of torque, enough for a 4.7 second sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph). Although that's significantly quicker than the pack of regular front-drive hot hatches, it's still down compared to the performance offered by the (admittedly more expensive) Mercedes A45 AMG and Audi RS3.

Mountune's tweaks mean (on paper at least ) the Focus RS is on a level playing field with the Mercedes and Audi's hyper hatches. Power jumps to 375 hp (280 kW) and torque is boosted to 510 Nm, slicing 0.2 seconds from the car's sprint time. The boost come courtesy of a high-performance air filter, bespoke alloy crossover duct, an upgraded air re-circulation valve and bespoke ECU mapping.

Under the skin of the Ford Focus RS, now capable of hitting 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds thanks to Mountune
Under the skin of the Ford Focus RS, now capable of hitting 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds thanks to Mountune

According to Ford, the drop is enough to make the car quicker than a base mode 911 Carrera, despite costing half as much. Porsche is notorious for underselling its cars on paper, so we're not sure the Focus would actually show the 911 a clean set of heels on the drag strip, but the fact we're mentioning a family hatch in the same breath as the legendary rear-engine sports car is still impressive.

With that said, it's still not quite as fast as the German hyper hatches in a straight line. Blame the car's manual gearbox, which trades precious tenths for precious driver involvement.

The Mountune upgrade takes one and a half hours to fit, and is fully backed by the standard Ford warranty. Pricing starts at £899 in the UK, but there's no word on whether the package will be offered in the USA.

Source: Ford

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