Anyone else as excited as I am about the new RS?

turtl631 wrote: I'm intrigued, AWD turbo hatch sounds fun but I don't want another EJ25 car after popping a stock Forester XT engine. Subaru always seems to have one deal breaker in their cars for me.

That's the best part of this! It isn't a Subaru

Maybe I have driven one for too long, but I just can't get excited about looking at hatcbacks, especially ones with five doors. They're as unappealing as the seventh straight day of leftovers.

Kudos to Ford for breaking new ground within the segment, though.

Very cool.
Too bad I've no interest in buying a new car, so would be fighting with y'all in a decade or so.
Also, less interest in four/five doors, show me the same drive-train with two/three and we're talking.

I would totally buy one if it had an 8 track player. Once again the OEMs fail to deliver.

In all seriousness, this thing is AWESOME! I could see this being great for daily driving.

I'm pretty interested in this. Have you guys seen the Evo video on YouTube where you et to hear the engine at the end? Sounds good for a four pot.

I keep saying I'll never buy another brand new car, but this may make that hard. If I bought one I would seriously consider taking the depreciation hit to have one that hadn't been KenBlocked. Well, by anyone else anyway.

Two doors look sexier. Drove them for years. I now have found that four doors are much handier if you carry anything in the back seat. Can't see the doors when I am driving anyway

iceracer wrote: Two doors look sexier. Drove them for years. I now have found that four doors are much handier if you carry anything in the back seat. Can't see the doors when I am driving anyway

In other words, two door cars tell the hotties that you are cool AND available. Or at least cool and have no kids.

4 door cars are like getting a mini-van, its admission that you are absolutely not available- since you are practical and need the extra doors.

And even if the 2 and 4 door cars are identical, it's far better to attact the hotties than not.

Bonus points if said car puts you in the right crowd- car hipster, euro goth, asian cartoons, etc.

I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons.

It's the "ecoboost 2.3 motor from the mustang" except it's not... the head is cast in a higher strength alloy, the block has higher tensile strength liners, clamped together with a higher durability head gasket. Oh, and a revised intake, and exhaust, and a twin scroll turbo. ...and a larger radiator for prolonged thrashing.

Never mind the AWD system. The one with active torque vectoring. With electronically controlled clutched rear diff that can divert 70% of power to the rear, and then up to 100% of power to ONE rear wheel at a time! Oh, and it's pre-emptive, so it takes into account steering wheel input and various sensors at a sampling rate of 100x/second, and sends torque to the outside rear wheel when entering a corner, effectively driving the car "around" instead of any fwd bias tendency to understeer.

So much cool tech crammed in here, stuff that a bean counter would seemingly normally never allow.

But we should all probably just claim it's an overpriced econobox or something.

Want!

That's a lot of techno jibberjabber i don't understand.

Is it fun to drive, make good noises, look good, and go fast? That's all i want to know.

xflowgolf wrote: I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons. It's the "ecoboost 2.3 motor from the mustang" except it's not... the head is cast in a higher strength alloy, the block has higher tensile strength liners, clamped together with a higher durability head gasket. Oh, and a revised intake, and exhaust, and a twin scroll turbo. ...and a larger radiator for prolonged thrashing. Never mind the AWD system. The one with active torque vectoring. With electronically controlled clutched rear diff that can divert 70% of power to the rear, and then up to 100% of power to ONE rear wheel at a time! Oh, and it's pre-emptive, so it takes into account steering wheel input and various sensors at a sampling rate of 100x/second, and sends torque to the outside rear wheel when entering a corner, effectively driving the car "around" instead of any fwd bias tendency to understeer.

All of the details are still leaked data as far as I've seen. They certainly bear discussion but I'm waiting to hear official confirmation of them before I get too deep in the weeds.

But, yeah, some amazing tech going on.

ultraclyde wrote: All of the details are still leaked data as far as I've seen. They certainly bear discussion but I'm waiting to hear official confirmation of them before I get too deep in the weeds. But, yeah, some amazing tech going on.

It's all in the official Ford Press Release as of yesterday:

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2015/02/03/all-new-ford-focus-rs.html

Excerpt:

"The Ford Performance All-Wheel-Drive system is based on twin electronically controlled clutch packs on each side of the rear drive unit. These manage the car’s front/rear torque split, and can control the side-to-side torque distribution on the rear axle – delivering the “torque vectoring” capability that has a dramatic impact on handling and cornering stability.

The control unit in the rear drive unit continuously varies the front/rear and side-to-side torque distribution to suit the current driving situation, monitoring inputs from multiple vehicle sensors 100 times per second. A maximum of 70 percent of the drive torque can be diverted to the rear axle. Up to 100 percent of available torque at the rear axle can be sent to each rear wheel.

During cornering, the rear drive unit pre-emptively diverts torque to the outer rear wheel immediately based on inputs such as steering wheel angle, lateral acceleration, yaw and speed. This torque transfer has the effect of “driving” the car into the bend, achieving improved turn-in and stability, and virtually eliminating understeer."

...and engine details:

"Unique powertrain for increased output ...

Projected to produce well in excess of 315 horsepower, the custom unit shares its fundamental structure with the all-aluminum 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine in the all-new Mustang, but has been significantly upgraded through a comprehensive package of design changes.

Increased output is generated by a new low-inertia twin-scroll turbocharger with larger compressor that delivers significantly greater airflow, along with a much bigger intercooler to maximize charge density. Engine breathing is enhanced through a less restrictive intake design, and a large-bore high-performance exhaust system with an electronically controlled valve in the tailpipe that helps optimize the balance of back pressure and noise output.

The cylinder head is produced from an upgraded alloy material capable of withstanding higher temperatures, and is mounted on a more robust head gasket with improved thermal capability. The cylinder block employs stronger high-tensile cast iron liners.

Engine cooling also has been given the highest priority, with engineers creating additional space within the front of the vehicle to house a significantly larger radiator pack that provides the level of cooling demanded for hard circuit use."

well.....E36 M3, nevermind.

This thing Rawks. I see a test drive in my future. I really want to see how this thing feels back to back with my Mustang that is pretty stone age tech in comparison (even though it's only an '05.)

I wonder how this stuff will do with long term survival? One of the reasons I didn't mind taking the depreciation hit on buying the pony new was that it was a basic design that would age reliably. An NA V8, 5speed, RWD is about as simple a system as you get and expecting it to go 200k with basic care is reasonable. Will the high tech monster be the same? Certainly there's something to be said for longevity of things like better head gaskets and oversized radiators when you're daily driving a car. If it was built to survive 50k all-out track miles, 200k street miles should be attainable.

And what will the MPG be like? (No discussion of good or bad, just how much I need to put in my budget....)

xflowgolf wrote: I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons. So much cool tech crammed in here, stuff that a bean counter would seemingly normally never allow. But we should all probably just claim it's an overpriced econobox or something.

Yeah let's just discuss how many doors attracts the hotties...

I think it's interesting that the engine has so many tweaks over the Mustang version, which is itself a quite new performance car. I hope it has capacity (bottom end strength, compressor flow) to get near 400whp with tune and bolt ons.

jv8 wrote:

xflowgolf wrote: I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons. So much cool tech crammed in here, stuff that a bean counter would seemingly normally never allow. But we should all probably just claim it's an overpriced econobox or something.

Yeah let's just discuss how many doors attracts the hotties...

I know when I think about what car I want to get, other peoples' opinion is the primary concern.

Consider my interest piqued and yet I could probably save my cash, drive my current ST around for a few years and get a used Vette. Doesn't help that the ST trade will probably be some horrid value.

Knurled wrote:

jv8 wrote:

xflowgolf wrote: I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons. So much cool tech crammed in here, stuff that a bean counter would seemingly normally never allow. But we should all probably just claim it's an overpriced econobox or something.

Yeah let's just discuss how many doors attracts the hotties...

I know when I think about what car I want to get, other peoples' opinion is the primary concern.

It's not other peoples' opinions per se, but the opinions of the hotties! Hello!?

Swank Force One wrote: That's a lot of techno jibberjabber i don't understand.

It's all ball bearings nowadays

I'm certainly interested. I figure 2+ more years before the WRX is at a place/mileage that I'll be ready to move on.

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I want this car with a less boy-racer look to it though. My favorite thing about my 09 wrx sedan is how boring it looks, even though it goes like a banshee.

What I really really want though is the RS drivetrain in THIS

jv8 wrote:

xflowgolf wrote: I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons. So much cool tech crammed in here, stuff that a bean counter would seemingly normally never allow. But we should all probably just claim it's an overpriced econobox or something.

Yeah let's just discuss how many doors attracts the hotties...

It's easier to get the hotties into the backseat when there are back doors

carczar_84 wrote: I know everyone here has mixed feelings about Mr. Block, but I'm just going to leave this right here: http://youtu.be/Qy-mhyUAaqE

Woo-WEE!!!

It can do that box stock, Ford has a real winner on their hands. I can't afford it, but I tell ya--if I were in the market for a car at that price, I'd seriously consider it. That configuration is super practical!

MASSIVE props to Ford for putting out some excellent products as of late. They're becoming innovators again, which is awesome to see out of Detroit.

If thats the stock exhaust it sounds pretty amazing right from the factory

irish44j wrote:

jv8 wrote:

xflowgolf wrote: I am surprised how little technical discussion I'm seeing about this here on GRM. This car looks awesome for all the right reasons. So much cool tech crammed in here, stuff that a bean counter would seemingly normally never allow. But we should all probably just claim it's an overpriced econobox or something.

Yeah let's just discuss how many doors attracts the hotties...

It's easier to get the hotties into the backseat when there are back doors

You want to get the hotties who know you have kids?

Besides, that's why there's a hatch and the seats fold down.

Maybe we need a 350hp, AWD (baiased toward the rear), 2 door station wagon.

xflowgolf wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: That's a lot of techno jibberjabber i don't understand.

It's all ball bearings nowadays

And here I thought that it was all about the fetzer valve.