Ford has just pre-sold every one of its special edition Focus RS500 cars — all 500 of them (surprisingly). The hot hatch, priced at £35,450, gets a stealthy matt black finish, ultra-low-profile tyres, tinted windows, and an enormous rear wing — not to mention a healthy boost in power.
Under the bonnet, the turbocharged five-cylinder engine benefits from a larger intercooler, uprated fuel pump, new air box, and bigger-bore exhaust. Those tweaks, along with a revised ECU, deliver a 45 bhp increase — up to 345 bhp — and torque rises slightly from 325 lb ft to 339 lb ft. That puts the RS500 right up there with a Porsche 911 for power, and all for under £35k.
We haven’t managed to get behind the wheel (yet), but early reports suggest this could be one of the best hot hatches ever built. With that kind of performance, combined with the RS’s legendary handling and a strictly limited run, the Ford Focus RS500 is already a future classic.
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