As the reveal of the fourth-generation Ford Focus looms, and following its unveiling next week, it’s easy to have all that news eclipse the all-wheel drive RS hot hatch that came before, having just halted production to make way for the brand new replacement.
Alongside Ford detailing the car’s multitude of improvements over the third-generation Focus hatch and sedan, the discussion will surely turn to how just how far the Blue Oval’s performance division can push it beyond last year’s RS - a car that’s sure to make its debut a good few years into the Focus’ life cycle.
Keeping up with the times, Ford is quite likely giving serious consideration to the integration of a hybrid assist system to augment the turbocharged petrol engine that’s all but locked in for the next RS, nudging it higher into mega hatch atmosphere, according to a report from Autocar.
With a more advanced 48V electrical architecture in play as well as a powerful electric motor, Ford could endow the car with go-faster features such as an electric compressor to provide instant boost during low RPM situations, equally instantaneous torque vectoring, and an electric starter motor for seamless start-stop.
Of course, these types of changes will effect the car’s weight, but the performance gains to be had could be significant enough to justify the added mass, and then some. Peak system output could rise 300kW or more, with equally dramatic effects to torque - think 550Nm+.
Similar big-power hatches to emerge within the next few years are expected to also offer comparable performance from a similar adoption of electrified powertrains, but exactly for that reason the playing field could potentially become more level.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine the next Focus RS’ metrics to very closely parallel that from the contemporary Mercedes-AMG A45, Audi RS3, and BMW 1 Series M hatch, not just in raw grunt but measurements such as lap times too. With the forthcoming small Bimmer confirmed to adopt all-wheel drive, the driving characteristics will be more familiar across these offerings, with far less outlay.
Interestingly, the aforesaid report posits that Ford will retain the 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder from the present day RS. Presumably it will leave the engine tune mostly untouched, which might mean a very familiar 257kW and 440Nm.
Paired with the electric hybrid or mild hybrid boost, and acceleration can conceivably be sliced down to around just 4 seconds all the while providing every fuel economy - especially in the city - that’s magnitudes better what we expect from today’s mega hatches.
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