The next Ford Focus RS will have 400bhp and mild hybrid power
Ford’s next generation superhatch will boast more power while packing new future tech......
The current generation Ford Focus RS will end production in the next few weeks bringing to an end what was a star of the current crop of super hatches. As usual with these things, there is no time to sit around and reminisce as news has broken that the next-generation will be more powerful, faster and packed with new tech.
Scheduled to break cover in 2020, the new Focus RS will boast 400bhp, 425lb-ft of torque and a 48v mild-hybrid system similar to the one found in the new Audi A7.
The current generation Focus RS, one of the great hot hatches...........
This is according to Autocar, who claim the reasoning behind this move to turbocharged, mild-hybrid power is down to European emissions regulations. These strict rules require carmakers to meet a CO2 range average of just 95g/km by the year 2021.
With the outgoing model emitting some 175g/km thanks to its 2.3-litre turbocharged Ecoboost engine, any new model would have to better this figure by some margin to remain viable for mass production.
The new Focus RS is one of 40 models that Ford plans to electrify by 2022 in plans announced at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year as part of a £8.7 billion investment in new technology.
Will a 'mild-hybrid' Focus RS be worthy of the badge?
With the outgoing generation of Focus RS, Ford gave us something of a pivotal moment with a car that was blisteringly quick, while remaining as easy to drive as a garden variety model with all the daily usability you’d expect from a bestselling mass-produced hatchback.
So, with a very tough act to follow, will Ford get it right with the next-gen Focus RS? With more power, more tech and the keeping of the four-wheel drive and (hopefully) a proper manual gearbox, we have high hopes that it will be worthy of the fabled RS badge.
What are your thoughts on the Focus RS going ‘mild-hybrid’? Will it make it a better car? Or will it lose that something that made it so special? Let us know in the comments.
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Comments (19)
Thank you for writing a new great article on the EVs. After the very British electric Mini, you deal with the very American perfect hatchback. I noticed the hybrid vehicles are compromises between the internal combustion and the electric drivetrains. It could be an amazing way to reunite more power (and speed) and the efficiency about the fuel autonomy. People are not ready to adopt a 100% electric car in the US and elsewhere in 2020/2022.
Thanks Aurelie!!
You're welcome.
Hi congratulations - your post has been selected by DriveTribe ev Ambassador for promotion on the DriveTribe homepage.
All this power for me ruins the purity of a hot hatch. I'd better stick with Fiesta ST. Or the mighty Golf GTI
So you prefer a mild hatch to a hot hatch then
Since when there's a new class for fast hatchbacks? Anyway I think a hatchback with more than 210 hp is too much for me (yes the Golf is 220 but still acceptible)
Yay more to go wrong. Buying a old ford escort wouldn't be a bad shout.
Except the price will be the same as a new focus rs
Hmmm I might still take the escort
Ben hodges full jezza 😎😎😎