Ford Performance prototype
Filmed on public and closed roads in Europe and US.
ESP and traction control deactivated.
Always obey speed limits.
This is the inside story of the rebirth of an icon
the Ford Focus RS.
From the design studio to the test track, and
from Arizona to the Arctic
we follow the team
as they strive to revive a famous name.
We're not gonna put out a vehicle that doesn't deserve that RS badge.
And we'll follow Ford rally and Gymkhana superstar Ken Block
as he joins the RS team.
Ford Focus RS
Rebirth of an icon
With just 8 months to go before the RS enters production
the Ford Performance team is in Sweden to test in extreme conditions.
The pressure is building.
The car has just been revealed to the public at the Geneva International Motor Show
But Ford Global Product Chief Raj Nair is not happy
When you're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on programs
you've gone to an auto show and spent a lot of money showing people the vehicle
and then... to not deliver to the dealers when you told them they're going to get it is a big problem.
Our last drive at Lommel uncovered some issues
in the dynamics of the vehicle and we also now have some issues on the powertrain side
generating the horsepower that we want for the vehicle
so the pressure's building up, so we are not going to put out a vehicle that doesn't deserve that RS badge
so if we have to delay job one, we will.
Raj's concerns are echoed by the Director of Ford Performance, Dave Pericak
who's flown to Sweden to join the team
The engine is giving us some sleepless nights at the moment
we know we've got a little bit of a road ahead of us to get the engine to perform at the level that we need it to
We're looking for world class performance out of this engine and so we're not quite there yet.
Key members of the development team are met by two RS prototypes and competitor cars.
This is the first time that all the right hardware, all the right software, everything is finally in one vehicle
We've had bits and pieces of it in many different cars but this is the first time that it's all together
It's day one, and the convoy sets off on a gruelling 350 kilometre test through spectacular scenery.
on some of the challenging roads in Europe.
Vehicle Engineering Manager Tyrone Johnson is one of those responsible for fixing the problems
You anticipate problems, and some of them occur, some of them don't occur, and many others happen
that you didn't anticipate. And you're always behind. That's part of the development process.
Up until a month ago, we thought we were on target in terms of power and torque,
and then we had a couple of issues, engine issues, and we now have to sort those out.
Driving in such an extreme environment sometimes needs some lateral thinking
especially when it comes to fuel.
On the pump they offer only 95 Octane, and we have a development calibration and a development engine in
so to protect it we need to run on higher grade fuel
So we had a choice, you could either stay under 5500 RPM, or add Octane Booster.
I said "if you want to stay in Ford Performance, you don't elect to stay below 5500 RPM"
so he got out of the car and he went in to buy some Octane Booster!
I bought everything! It's sold out now.
Alright, let's roll.
As the sun sets on day one, Jamal reflects on the team's progress
I think the car's a little too quiet, it's very smooth - everything good in a traditional car.
I think we can go a little more edgy, a little more visceral, a little harder-core
It's a good place to be because it's a lot easier to add anger into a car
than to take an angry car and kind of try to tone it down
It's day two, and time for some laps of a special circuit - cut into a frozen lake.
Today it's really very low friction - to see how the cars react on snow tires
in this kind of environment - and to see if our car reacts the way that we've been working towards
in terms of the controlability, the excitement
all the kinds of things that we've been trying to achieve compared to the competition.
For chief test driver David Put it's a tough day at the office.
People would pay money to do this - what can I say... I love it.
Instead of doing timed laps, it's all about car control basically.
I'm just trying to upset the car and constantly feel what it is doing now - is it sliding through?
Are we going too far? Can I brake and control the car easily, or am I sweating and working like hell?
Is it easy to find the grip on the road, yes or no?
These are all completely different to a race driver.
A race driver is basically braking hard here, going in the perfect apex or whatever... we don't do that.
On this vehicle we will have three different modes
we are trying to give the enthusiastic RS customer whatever they like
if they like to drive rally style, they can drive rally style
if they like to drive Nurburgring on a racetrack we have a different mode for that.
So we try to make three cars in one this time.
People are supposed to be excited driving this car
it's supposed to be a little bit of a different feeling than the competition.
That's what we've been all about really, in trying to achieve.
At the end of the day, the team get together for a debrief, and it's clear there are still problems to be solved.
We definitely need to work on our sound. Our sound is not fantastic by any means.
Exhaust? Outside the car, inside the car, both?
Both. Yes, both.
We don't want obnoxious but we do want... you know, sporty - a sporty loudness
We want something that when it goes, you think 'oh that's something special' right?
But real progress has been made .
It feels like all the systems are working in harmony to do what the driver is trying to tell it to do.
For me, of all of these, that's what the Focus does so well.
I think we're in a pretty good place - we still have some things to do.
And even, think that our car - the damping hasn't been done yet, so there's still some to come here.
This team should be really proud right now
like I said, we've got a long way to go, but take a moment and at least congratulate yourself for where we are
because we've got a car that's already the best of the bunch so... the sky's the limit if we stay focused.
Next time... at the Ford test track in Dunton, England, the team fine tune the launch control system.
It's kind of getting into supercar territory
While in Saarlouis, Germany, the Focus production line is being readied for the arrival of the RS.