Ford May Dump Focus RS In Favour Of Fiesta RS: Report

As far as swansongs go, the last Ford Focus RS was a hell of a way to send off the last-generation Focus family.

But while a new RS-badged performance flagship for the current Focus has long been rumoured, new reports out of Europe suggest the Focus RS may be dumped - in favour of a Fiesta RS.

The European rumour-mill cites the recent move to Volkswagen of former Ford Special Vehicles Team (SVT) head Jost Capito as an indication that Focus RS development may be on hold.

Capito was responsible for the previous Focus RS, so his defection to VW (where he is working on the upcoming Polo R)  would have arguably put development of the Focus RS in a spin.

There are also reports that many within Ford's SVT camp see the Fiesta as having the more potential, with its low weight, small size and established platform making it easier to extract performance out of.

And being available as a three-door hatch apparently also strengthens its case, with the five-door Focus considered an un-sporty bodystyle.

On the other hand, the new Focus is already engineered to accept Ford's range of 2.0 litre Ecoboost engines, which are capable of making substantially more power and torque than the 1.6 Ecoboost that's headed for the upcoming Fiesta ST.

The Focus' multi-link rear suspension would also endow it with certain dynamic advantages.

However, the decision between Focus RS and Fiesta RS may not come down to not which is the better hot hatch, but instead which would sell in greater numbers and deliver the biggest margins.

A Focus RS could demand a higher price thanks to a higher level of performance, however the simpler and lighter Fiesta RS would be more affordable and could potentially sell in the higher volumes.

Watch this space.