Say you’re in a position of power within Ford Performance. You’re still riding high after the coup d’etat that you just pulled off at the North American International Auto Show, and you’re just getting warmed up. The Ford GT was a jaw-dropper. The Raptor had worldwide media outlets buzzing, and there’s still guesses on the power figures for the G.T.350R, let alone all of the speculation as to whether or not it stomped the Camaro Z/28’s Nurburgring lap time. Three down, several more to go, and coming up next is the first true attempt at a European-style hot hatch, the Focus RS. It’s all-wheel-drive, giving the Subaru STi something to be genuinely concerned about, it’s rocking the EcoBoost turbo four-banger that is already doing some work in the Mustang, and it’s pushing some numbers…which you’ll keep to yourself. (The rumor mill keeps throwing around 350hp, for what it’s worth.) So how do you go about introducing a car that tuner enthusiasts have been dreaming of for years, a car that only existed in video games or on episodes of Top Gear before?
Well, Ford happens to be great friends with a guy who has plenty of experience when it comes to taking a highly-strung all-wheel-drive hatchback and flinging it every which way physically possible: Ken Block. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that the man can drive his ass off, so when the time came to introduce the Focus RS in Cologne, Germany, of course it made sense to put him into a pre-production car and let him slide his way around the factory before drifting into a hall full of press and insiders. Mr. Kenneth Block, introducing you to the new Ford Focus RS. All-wheel-drive donuts are complimentary.
This is the 2015 equivalent of the 1970 GTO Humbler commercial! The bean counters are going to have to kill it before it goes mainstream.