Although Ford has introduced a disclaimer when the Drift Mode is switched on, that was not enough to placate the Pedestrian Council of Australia. “A disclaimer is not going to stop an idiot from trying this on public roads,” council head Harold Scruby told news.com.au recently. The disclaimer warns the driver that Drift Mode is only to be used on a race track or controlled environment.
Australia has tough laws against reckless driving, which includes drifting. In most Australian states, police could confiscate an offender’s car, and also his driver’s licence for up to 12 months.
The third-generation all-wheel drive Focus RS has a 345hp 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine (the same engine as found in the RM489K Mustang), achieving 0-100kph in 4.7sec and can reach a top speed of 266kph. This makes it the fastest accelerating RS model ever. The engine also delivers 440Nm of torque and is able to overboost to 470Nm for 15s.
The A$51,000 (RM156,000) RS optimises acceleration by introducing Launch Control technology to an RS model for the first time. The model also debuts new Ford Performance All-Wheel Drive with Dynamic Torque Vectoring, for outstanding traction and grip with unmatched agility and cornering speed.
READ MORE: Ford Focus RS travels on one of Europe's greatest driving roads
RS chief engineer Tyrone Johnson set out to develop a ground-breaking all-wheel drive hatch from the start and the industry-first drift mode was created by chance. In this mode, up to 70% of the power is routed to the rear wheels to enable the RS to perform a controlled power oversteer.
Although it was a hoot to have it during the development phase, it wasn't intended to reach the production car. But when Ford global technical and development chief Raj Nair saw what the RS could do in drift mode, he greenlighted it into production. And that is how it is and the feature continues to be a source of glee and a point of contention.
As we wait for the RS to hopefully reach local shores this year, here's CarSifu's contribution to the Ford entry with the current Focus going up against the VW Golf and Peugeot 308 THP
