The Ford Focus RS sent shockwaves through the hot hatch market when it launched in 2009. It looked the business with its flared fenders, lowered suspension, and aggressive front air dam. Best of all, it came with a 300-horsepower 2.5-liter inline-five-cylinder engine and a chassis that could make those horses dance.
The turbocharged 2.5-liter engine originated from Volvo when the Swedish company was part of Ford, not Geely. It uses an aluminum cylinder block with metal-sprayed bores instead of cast-in liners along with reinforced pistons, rods, and cams. All necessary things to keep the lid on the large BorgWarner K16 turbo producing 20 psi of boost.
When new, the Ford Focus RS could hit 60 mph in under six seconds on its way to a 163 mph top speed. This Focus is now 14 years old, a long way from being new, but the owner claims it makes 370 horsepower. That begs the question, will it hit 163 mph?
In the video, the driver wastes no time getting up to speed. The inline-five cylinder makes a pleasant, subdued growl as he works through the gears. Before long, the Focus RS is in the left lane passing through 200 kph, or about 124 miles an hour. To hit 163 mph, he’s got to get up over 263 kph. In the first attempt, the Focus RS reaches 240 kph, about 14 mph shy of the top speed.
The Focus RS makes several more runs at its top speed, each thwarted by traffic. However, each attempt is not in vain because we get to hear the glorious sound of the engine as it makes short work of slower vehicles, working its way into the upper reaches of the speedometer.
Finally, traffic clears enough to really go for it. The result is a top-speed run of about 270 kph or 168 mph. It’s hard to know for sure because the speedometer’s numbers are in increments of 20, but the needle sweeps past 260 kph, getting just over halfway between that mark and 280.
While the top speed is undoubtedly impressive, how the Focus RS goes about its business on the autobahn is fantastic. It seems almost casual as it smoothly passes slower cars. You’d almost think it was a large car like a BMW 760Li. Except large Bimmers don’t have that wonderful and unmistakable inline-five growl.
