The Next Ford Focus ST Will Use An RS-Derived 2.3 With 250bhp
Remember the report which alleged the next Ford Focus ST would churn out 275bhp from a teeny-tiny Fiesta ST 1.5-litre inline-three? You can forget all about that.
Autocar - the same publication to break the original 1.5 story - reports that Ford is won’t go that route, as the 1.5 can’t reliably produce the kind of power figures you’d expect from an ST. Instead, engineers are understood to have opted for a 2.3-litre inline-four turbo. It’ll have “close technical links” to the Ecoboost engine in the Focus RS, Autocar explains, but that could still mean it’ll be a detuned version of the related 2.3 four-banger found in the Mustang.
It won’t make as much power as either though - the anticipated output will be around 250bhp. That’s only a tiny increase over the old one (pictured above), but the next ST should be lighter than the old one - the new Focus) has dropped 88kg “like-for-like” when compared with the outgoing model, and it’s more rigid too.
The RS, on the other hand, will be significantly more powerful than the current model - it’ll put out a monstrous 400bhp from a hybrid powertrain, rumour has it.
Focus ST render via X-Tomi Design
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
2.3 Litre inline-three turbo?
TF?
“Focus RS render via X-Tomi Design”
Focus RS render? TF?
Fixed!
Probably a mistake, I know that there were some crazy high displacement “little” engines made in the past (like a 7-liter inline-four), but the biggest production automotive inline-three was a diesel 1.8 done for Alfa Romeo in the 80s, and the biggest inline-three I can find is a two-stroke 3.5 diesel.
If the ST gets 250bhp, I’m not sure why you’d really find it necessary to buy the RS, sure it has an extra 150bhp, quicker 0-60, faster straight line speed, but that’s not what a hot hatch is for, a hot hatch is about being cheap, fun and doesn’t have to be particularly fast. Considering that the current ST is £7k cheaper than the current RS, the new prices will probably be quite similar. So if I were to choose between the new ST and the new RS, I’d choose the ST in a heartbeat.
Hot Hatches lost their direction years ago. You see plenty of ST’s on Autotrader going for anything between £2k - £10k for older ones. Now it’s all about being the best, not the most fun.
The Up! GTi is Volkswagens way of saying “We know that the Golf is no longer a ‘Hot Hatch’ per se, and now we’ve got the Up! GTi to take you back to those days.”, but I bet come 5 - 10 years down the line the Up! will do just the same thing again and become too powerful for its own good.
I think we are already at the point where there is no reason to buy the RS. From what I have seen, it’s not the best road car, and is better suited for track use with it’s overly stiff suspension. The current ST’s are all the performance you need for street use. They really just need bettwr, more mature interiors and a good dual clutch option. Then they might get my money.
Many have said they prefer the Fiesta ST over the RS when it comes to just pure fun to drive.
If Ford can fit a 2.3 inline 4,
How hard is it going to fit a 2.5 inline 5?
The size of the 2.5 litre inline-5 never was a problem, the lack of fuel efficiency and the big turbo lag was a problem. Ford could fit it to their cars if they wanted to, they just chose not to.
If we can have a detuned 2.3 from the Mustang, we could have way more power with a remap !
This is my thought exactly when I read this. When they were taking about using a 1.5L I would think it would be difficult for the aftermarket to get much more out of it. If they are just going to make the 2.3L detuned, then getting it back up to 300-350 shouldn’t be too difficult (or expensive)
I thought it was gonna be a 1.5 i4 with 250
Nice.
Will it have the right head gasket?
Was i thr only one looking forward to a crazy I3 in a full sized hot hatch? It would be much lighter and would get much better fuel economy on the highway. Also, inline 3s are almost exotic in NY
2.3 instead of 1.5? That kills it in markets where taxation is based on displacement and almost everything over 2L is punished as a luxury vehicle… At least lets hope the standard 1.5 focus is fun to drive…
250bhp sounds plenty for a hot hatch. But 400…that’s a lot!