Kerstspecial 2021
Alex groot liefhebber van sportievere Ford’s die er al heel wat heeft gehad en er meestal wat aan veranderde, wilde nu wel eens iets anders. Waarom is er eigenlijk geen Hot Wagon dacht hij, waarom zou dat niet sportief kunnen zijn? Hij kocht een 1.0 EcoBoost prefacelift Mk3 wagon model en toverde deze in samenwerking met SS-Tuning om naar een heuse Ford Focus RS wagon.
En eerlijk, het is geen beauty?
Drivetribe.com zocht Alex op om hem alles over dit project te kunnen vragen.
Lees het verhaal hieronder (in het Engels) verder:
Meet The 430pk Ford Focus RS Wagon that Ford should HAVE BUILT 430bhp, AWD, drift mode, and room for the dogs in the back
If you could build the ultimate all-round everyday car what would it be like? Most people reading this would probably want something that’s fun to drive down a twisty country road while also being comfortable and practical enough to take on a family holiday.
Unfortunately, most car manufacturers seem to have gotten it into their heads that the SUV is the answer to everything. Now I have nothing against SUVs, some of them are very good cars, but what was wrong with also offering a lineup that includes more traditional saloons and estates as well.
Ford is a good example of this. They now offer a SUV in almost every size imaginable, and have a rapidly shrinking list of other body styles on offer. Things could have looked much different, Ford have all the ingredients needed to make some incredible performance cars. They currently make some of the best hot hatchbacks in the form of the Focus and Fiesta STs, but imagine if they gave us a new fast Mondeo, or a performance estate to sit above the current Focus ST estate. Well, thanks to Alex (@FocusRSwagon on Instagram) we now know what one of those would look like.
Bekijk hier een eerder item over de Ford Focus RS Wagon van 14 mei 2019
Op diezelfde pagina staan ook wat video’s over de Ford Focus RS Wagon
The car you see here started out in life as a standard mk3 1.0 EcoBoost Focus estate, but now features the engine, suspension, and all wheel drive system from a mk3 Focus RS hatchback. As you can imagine it isn’t easy to build the Worlds First Focus RS estate, so rather than me trying to explain how and why this project got started the owner was kind enough to answer a few questions and provide the pictures for this article.
What inspired you to start this project?
Previously I had a ST mk3 estate stage 3 with 370hp and then a RS mk3. I always loved the shape of mk3 wagon/estate more and had a passion for unicorn builds that manufacturer could easily build but didn’t (like M3 wagon etc). After I saw the ST mk3 sedan conversion SS-tuning made, I couldn’t stop thinking of RS wagon build. I love how wagons look and I love the practicality of being able to put more stuff into the trunk for family trips (important when you have kids).
Nog meer SS-Tuning is hier te vinden:
Have you had any other project cars in the past?
I’m hardcore fan of fast Fords, so I’ve had a few Focuses and Mondeos before that had few cosmetic touches and power mods. This RS wagon is the closest one to term project car than the other ones.
What was the base car you started with and how difficult was it to install the RS drivetrain?
The base car was 1.0 EcoBoost prefacelift mk3 wagon. Actually I planned to get a 2018 model year wagon in Iceberg Blue so that it would be close to original RS shade but for few reasons that plan didn’t work out. Since all I needed for the build was a mk3 wagon shell and all the rest had to be removed I decided to get a used car instead. Work started in 2018 and the car drove that year, but custom bumper and diffuser took a bit more time.
Most of the RS parts bolt on… except that differential. So the main challenge was to weld in rear suspension assembly from hatchback, as the one wagons have is completely different. It’s now a hatchback with welded wagon body on top… or vice versa. One of the parts you can’t swap from RS is the spoiler, so SS-tuning developed bodykit pieces for my project and now a few other RS wagon builds in other countries have the same spoilers and diffusers.
I started instagram for the car slightly later than project so the first posts are dated a couple of months or weeks later than the original timeline. Constant interest from around the world kept me posting about my project:) Main thing I advise for such projects is to swap all wiring, all powertrain. Swap complete systems and everything will work as it was intended (on different body style). Frankenstein builds will have more compromises.
It’s not that different, car is about 70 kg heavier and 20cm longer than RS hatchback. Just consider it to be a hatchback with bigger cargo area and slightly closer to perfect weight distribution (RS hatch is nose heavy 60:40). It feels quite similar to the hatchback I had, though both cars were in original form for a few weeks. On the hatchback I had just a tune, but for the wagon I upgraded the intake, intercooler and full exhaust system.
Is the project still ongoing or is the car now complete?
Project cars are never finished 🙂 Car is in the stage I planned it to be from the beginning however I do have some changes planned:
Reprogramming rear differential, front fender flares front bit redesign, a few minor customization mods for interior. Power mods are not planned, current ~430 hp is the maximum those engines can reliably get without forged internals, that’s why most stage 3 tunes give 420-440hp for this engine. To get higher power numbers you need forged block and methanol, but I’ll stick to concept of daily driver.
To go back to the question at the beginning, I think Alex has ticked all the boxes and built the ultimate daily driver. It’s fast, fun, practical, and just looks awesome. Now it’s just a shame Ford will never put it into production.
I’d like to say a huge thanks to Alex for taking the time to answer the questions, and make sure to follow @FocusRSwagon for future updates on the project.
Source | Drivetribe.com – Pictures Drivetribe and SS-Tuning