Ford Focus RS Limited Edition adds LSD and nicer cosmetics, 1,500 units only



Ford Performance scoured the Focus RS forums and and found suggestions on ways to further improve the car, so they did. Enter the 2018 Ford Focus RS Limited Edition. Only 1,500 units will be produced for the United States and Canada.

Ford monitored the conversations about the Focus RS on forums, social media platforms and even photoshop renderings to draw inspiration from fellow owners and enthusiasts. In that, Ford added some heavily requested exterior modifications such as blacked out roof, side mirrors and rear spoiler.

The previously body-painted RS badge on either side of the rear spoiler now contrasts against the black spoiler. The 19-inch forged alloy wheels which was an option on the standard Focus RS now comes as standard. Changes are subtle but impactful, just look at the delighted faces of the owners in the video below.

Inside, the door handles, handbrake lever and turbo gauge surrounds are now wrapped in carbon fibre to elevate the sporty image of the mega hatch. Other interior upgrades include black leather-trimmed Recaro seats with suede inserts, eight-way powered driver’s seat, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, heated wing mirrors and voice activated navigation system.

Mechanically, it retains the same 2.3-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost turbo petrol engine with 350 hp and 440 Nm on tap. Power is channelled to all four corners via a slick six-speed manual gearbox. After comments from owners, Ford has added a Quaife limited-slip differential on the front axle to give the Focus RS better traction and acceleration through a corner.

Other high-tech gismos such as Dynamic Torque Vectoring, Torque Vectoring Control and RS Drive Modes are retained. It sprints to 100 km/h the same – 4.7 seconds with Launch Control.

The US market will receive 1,000 units of the highly acclaimed hot hatch while Canada will get the remaining 500 units. Ford did not mention about allocations for right-hand drive market but said that this will be “the last opportunity” to order the current generation Focus RS in North America. Perhaps because a successor is now in the pipeline?


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