Tuesday 10th August 2010

BBR Builds 398bhp Ford Focus RS

Erstwhile tuner of Sierra Cosworths turns its attention to the Focus

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Northamptonshire tuning company BBR has revealed a series of performance and handling upgrades for the Ford Focus RS that bring its output up to a potential 398bhp.

As a tuning company, BBR is perhaps best-known for its insanely turbo'd 500 horsepower Sierra Cosworths in the late 80s and early 90s, as well as running Sierras and turbocharged Mitsubishis in the BTCC. The MX-5-isti will also know BBR as the creator of a successful turbo conversion kit for the Mazda MX-5.

The latest car to receive BBR's attention is the Focus RS. There are four stages of tuning available, from a £595 ECU re-map (which brings the Focus to an RS500-chasing 337bhp and 369lb ft of torque) to a full-on 'Phase Four', which takes the RS to 398bhp and 408lb ft of torque at 3380rpm.

The top-end conversion costs £3895, plus £595 for fitting, plus VAT. For that you get a complete 3in stainless steel exhaust system (including a cat), a modified fuel system and a new high-flow turbocharger.

On the off-chance you actually want to stay on the road, BBR will also fit a set of Koni adjustable dampers for you - for £795 plus £300 fitting.

It's also worth mentioning that if you don't have your heart set on that full 398bhp figure (although the Essex boy in all of us surely wants that), Mountune performance will do a more sensible 345bhp version that won't affect the manufacturer's warranty...

 

[LukeBird]

Mental!

Torque steer ahoy!

[J4CKO]

I like that but, I like Torque Steer and dont see why rear wheels skidding, spinning or sliding is automatically considered superior, ok it kind of is but dont discount a good battle with the front wheels of a hot hatch as being the work of the devil.

[David87]

I'll take the Mountune kit, please!

[R66STU]

am i missing somthing ? it says on the graph that the phase 4 kit wil give 404bhp?

[Nickellarse]

Thick end of £7K for "only" an extra 100 horses!

[rev-erend]

Great - I need even more torque steer than I have already

[stuckmojo]

Nickellarse said:

Thick end of £7K for "only" an extra 100 horses!

..which you'd only experience at above-legal speeds.

That is unless they remove the limiter in the first 2 gears. In that case wheelspin innuendo..

How about keeping it standard?

[Jaws]

Jamsport already do a 400 kit and it is quite a bit cheaper at approx £2500...although i'm sure the kits have there differences.

http://www.mk2focusrs.co.uk/home/mk2-focus-rs-305p...

[e30racer]

Why was my post deleted, I was only warning PH's about this company.????!

[Corsair7]

e30racer said:

Why was my post deleted, I was only warning PH's about this company.????!

No 'naming and shameing', as per the site rules, as a guess?

[Dagnut]

J4CKO said:

I like that but, I like Torque Steer and dont see why rear wheels skidding, spinning or sliding is automatically considered superior, ok it kind of is but dont discount a good battle with the front wheels of a hot hatch as being the work of the devil.

Because it is exactly the opposite with RWD you can use the power to steer the car..I'm not saying that a powerful FWD isn't fun but too much power is a waste

[Fidgits]

yeah, i cant say 400bhp through the front wheels would be much fun in 1st and 2nd gear..


and im not saying this because i think RWD is superior, i'm saying it because 340bhp through my rears isn't any fun in 1st on a wet road... so i can only imagine what a little dampness will do to this!

[turbouberman]

i really want to like all these rs focus variants, but for all the money its takin the rs a bit to far into territory it cant really hang with isnt it?

[ge0rge]

Nickellarse said:

Thick end of £7K for "only" an extra 100 horses!

Mad isnt it, in an evo you can pay around 1500 and get similar hikes in power.

[Nagra]

Is it 4WD?

[loudlashadjuster]

Can't help but think that if the press release was '<insert tuner name here> Builds 398bhp Evo' then it would be the very definition of a non-story.

Is it really that difficult to get 400hp out of 2.5l?

Freshly-minted Evos, and to a slightly lesser extent Imprezas, have been but a few choice tweaks away from 400hp for years now with all but the most ham-fisted of tuners able to offer a stage 1 or 2 tune to that level, why the big deal over this Focus?

Is it just because everyone gets all misty eyed over the BBR adverts in the back of Performance Car?

[saddler]

save you can and buy a EVO lol

[winshent]

Nickellarse said:

Thick end of £7K for "only" an extra 100 horses!

since when does £3895 + £595 = 7K ?

[Dan 87]

They can't seriously try and compete with scooby's and evo's while still using fwd.... can they??

[booner]

winshent said:

Nickellarse said:

Thick end of £7K for "only" an extra 100 horses!

since when does £3895 + £595 = 7K ?

There's VAT to add to that too, which will be 2.5% higher from Jan :P

I love the focus RS, but this kind of tuning would have been so much better on a 4WD setup imo.