Even though this car supposedly has about 50 percent too much power heading through the front wheels, the fun doesn’t have to stay in straight lines. Quaife’s creation of Revoknuckle, a system that limits the kingpin movement has, according to Ford, redefined what’s possible with front-wheel drive—especially when combined with an automatic torque-biased limited-slip diff between the front wheels. That effectively creates a lower wishbone arrangement and is the secret of the RS’s monstrous success and turns what—on paper, at least—is an accident waiting to happen into a perfectly balanced supercar in hot hatch clothing. Four-wheel drive would have made more sense with this power, but it would have added weight and pillaged the experience.
It should plain understeer off the road, but with a healthy dose of throttle through the apex, it simply tugs at the reins and does as its told—long after it should be in a wall. The car just holds the bend and won’t be budged from its line no matter what you throw at it, and it will even tighten up with a severe mid-corner lift and the composure of the chassis is one of those things that has to be felt to be believed.
Only a few years ago, the Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution were the established masters in this field. (Both are four-wheel drive.) That Ford has managed to blow them off the road with a car where the same wheels drive and steer is a bone fide miracle. As for the conventional competition like the VW Golf GTi, forget about it; the German would be a speck in the Ford’s mirror on anything like the right road, and it’s genuinely hard to imagine going faster through a bend in any car.
The 3,230 lbs just seem to disappear, and there’s such a confidence to the attitude that it takes 10 mph more in every bend without even suggesting consequence. For approximately $35,000 in the U.S., or slightly more with the near $1,000 optional green paint, that is a bargain.
Most modern supercars are simply wonderful technical achievements that achieve prison-baiting speeds without the sense of occasion and require a sense of moderation. The Focus RS is a mind-blowing technical leap forward, yet it’s more than that—it’s a laugh riot the moment you turn the key. This car has soul, it makes you want to drive the nuts off it on every roundabout and will take whatever you throw at it with a sense of humor and the odd lairy slide. That is what makes it great.
Even the lucky few who can still put a deposit down on the latest Ferrari might do well to test this new breed of hyper hatch first. This has been hailed as credit-crunch supercar for Europe’s masses, but it’s also one of the most entertaining cars on the road today and the answer to our prayers. Focus RS: America needs you.