AH, THE MK1 FOCUS RS. IT'S FAIR TO SAY WE'VE had something of a rollercoaster relationship with Ford's early-noughties superhatch over the years - and on more than one occasion it's been a genuine whiteknuckle ride. Dickie Meaden was first to drive it back in 2002, on the handling circuit at Ford's Lommel proving ground in Belgium (issue 048). His conclusion: that the RS's 'ground-breaking fusion of front-drive hot hatch ability and packaging with the punch, presence and performance of an all-wheel-drive rally-bred saloon makes it everything we were expecting and more'. Five stars and cigars all round? Not quite...
In the same issue we took another example to the Yorkshire Dales with a Clio Cup, Cooper S and Impreza WRX for company, and the Ford struggled with the occasionally lumpen topography, the stiff ride proving bruising, the torque steer distracting. It was much better, though, on smooth tarmac. 'When it works, the Focus RS does so truly brilliantly,' wrote John Barker, and we gave it a slightly hedging-our-bets four stars.
Then at the 2002 evo Car of the Year another Ford supplied car proved a torque-steering liability. 'On an open, bumpy road, every time you get on the gas it feels like you've lit a firework,' we said. 'When will the bang arrive? And which way is it going to go?' The Focus, it transpired in the months and years that followed, was particularly sensitive to set-up and sub-par tyres. There were also rumours that Quaife made unpublicised mods to the diff to endow the car with even more grip on a racetrack. After subsequently driving a couple of well-behaved cars supplied by owners, we bumped the star rating up to four and a half, but a few months later an extensive test of another privately owned car seemed to confirm all our worst early impressions and the RS was demoted to the ignominy of three stars, where it stayed for years.
Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
