Well, that was a fun 16 years or so, wasn't it? No doubt you've heard the news now about Ford's decision not to go ahead with a Focus RS Mk4, bringing to an end a fast Ford story that began in 2002. The last Mk3 Focus RS, the Heritage Edition, was launched at the start of February 2018, essentially repainting 2017's RS Edition a more nostalgic hue. So, that's it, a decade and a half of the fastest Focuses - albeit with gaps in between - now a closed chapter of Ford history. Damn emissions. Stupid pandemic.
Furthermore, while the cars won't have appealed to all tastes, the Focus RSes were nothing if not memorable. The Mk1 had the look of an F2 rally car for the road, chock full of expensive bits and delivering a level of FWD aggression never seen before; the Mk2 of the late 2000s proved 300hp through the front wheels was possible, a revelation given some experiences of the Mk1; and then the Mk3 introduced made 350hp and a fancy four-wheel drive system available for £30k. Unforgettable experiences every single one; not perfect, sure, but if a hot hatch is meant to be entertaining then all three of them nailed that brief.
The best of the previous bunch was the Mountune'd standard car. keeping the standard RS silliness (that was toned down a tad by the Edition's front Quaife diff) yet injecting some welcome excitement into the engine for not much money. Like all of the warrantied packages Mountune used to offer, FPM375 for the Focus was comprised solely of calibration and intake work; also like the warrantied packages Mountune offered, the effects were a lot more pronounced than the seemingly modest changes implied.
Because as well as boosting peak torque to an enormous 376lb ft and dropping the 0-62mph time to a 911-bothering 4.5 seconds, the Mountune upgrade delivered a welcome shot of energy into the 2.3-litre Ecoboost engine. Obviously the torque meant it pulled harder, but there was also additional willingness further up the rev range and a more entertaining soundtrack, with turbo whooshes and exhaust pops aplenty. For £900 plus fitting, the FPM375 kit was a no brainer as far as Focus RS speccing went.
As such, it's easy to find plenty of secondhand cars with the kit fitted; this one appeals as one of the more affordable out there and also because of its Nitrous Blue paint - the best colour for the Mk3 Focus RS, without question. It's covered 18,000 miles since 2017 and is available for £24,800.
Worth it? Well, if the most recent Focus RS wasn't already guaranteed fairly solid residuals - you'll still need more than £20,000 for any of them - then its status as the final one must secure it. Which is one of the things that makes comparison tricky, because there are A45 AMGs with fewer miles and newer Civic Type Rs available at the money. The other difficulty being that, seemingly more than most cars, if you want a Focus RS you're going to buy a Focus RS - nothing else will do.
The RS mystique in Britain, along with this car's desirable spec, should ensure it retains a chunk of its value where those rivals might not - handy come resale time. Or, hopefully, there might not be a resale time, and this Focus RS can stick with its next owner for a good few years, past the point the next RS was meant to arrive and into the future of whatever a fast Ford becomes. No doubt that car will promise a lot, but only if it whips up the world into a frenzy of excitement like this car did will it really have succeeded - that was the Focus RS effect to a tee, and it's going to be missed.
SPECIFICATION | FORD FOCUS RS
Engine: 2,261cc 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 375@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 376@2,000rpm
CO2: 175g/km
MPG: 36.7mpg
First registered: 2017
Recorded mileage: 18,000
Price new: £32,265 (Mountune FPM375 £899 plus fitting)
Yours for: £24,800
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