Ford Once Made A Crazy V8-Powered Rally Car For The Road
Two automotive worlds have rarely collided as spectacularly as they did when Ford’s racing division decided to drop a thundering V8 into one of Europe’s most celebrated hot hatches. On one side of the Atlantic, muscle cars and wide-open drag strips defined performance culture. On the other, tight rally stages and compact parking spaces made the rabid hatchback king. What happened when someone decided to smash those two philosophies together is one of the most gloriously unhinged concept stories in Ford’s history — and it deserves to be told again.
That’s just the way it is. A culture of drag racing (and cheap fuel) has always meant that there’s no replacement for displacement in the US, whereas in Europe, where people are brought up on a diet of rallying and small parking spaces, rabid hatchbacks tend to be the go-to for anyone who doesn’t have a supercar budget.
But what if, in a parallel universe, those two cultures were combined to mix the best of muscle cars and hot hatches together, just to see what happens? This parallel universe was the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in 2003, when Ford was trying to attract attention to a new crate engine it had on offer. The company would take the latest rally-bred hot hatch that was being rolled out in Europe and turn it into a V8 monster that acted like a muscle car in miniature. Sounds crazy? It got even crazier after that. Read on to hear the story of a mixing of cultures that created a V8-powered rally car for the road.
The Focus RS8 Mixes Euro Hot Hatch With All-American Muscle Car
 36 autotech Engine |
Power |
Torque |
Quarter Mile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
5.0-liter V8 |
420 hp |
370 lb-ft |
12.7 seconds |
2004 Ford Focus RS8 Specs
In the early 2000s, Ford had a new crate engine that it was marketing to anyone who wanted some modern power in their old-school muscle car. The 5.0-liter V8 ‘Cammer’ crate engine was descended from the SVT Mustang Cobra 4.6-liter engine family but had a number of key differences. The engine featured larger 94-mm bores (compared to 90.2) with flanged cylinder liners, bringing it up to 5.0 liters of displacement.
The engine had also been reinforced for high torque and featured forged pistons, ported heads, an 11.0:1 compression ratio, higher-lift cams, and special beehive-shaped valve springs. One place to generate attention for something like this would be the Specialty Equipment Market Association show — otherwise known as SEMA — and the Ford Racing Performance Parts (FRPP) department clearly knew they needed something that would stop visitors in their tracks.
Ford Needed A Way To Stand Out At SEMA In 2003
The problem was that 2003 was the eye of The Fast and the Furious storm, with every tuner and customizer bringing a tricked-out, multicolored car with more wings than Paul McCartney’s back catalog. There would also be plenty of beautiful muscle cars on show, leaving FRPP with the conundrum of exactly how they would create a showstopper. The answer came in the newly launched Focus RS in Europe. This car had captured plenty of headlines in places like the UK, mainly because fans had been begging for a follow-up to the likes of the Escort RS Cosworth.
The Result Was A Rear-Drive V8 Rally Car
The Focus RS had a whiff of Ford’s rallying program about it, with a very similar look to Colin McRae’s WRC car, as well as a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. But there was one big difference. Unlike the Escort Cosworth, the new Focus RS was front-wheel-drive only, which caused a bit of a stir among fans. Ford did have a solution, however.
The 2.0-liter Duratec engine — bespoke to the RS — produced 209 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque, which was a considerable output for a front-wheel-drive car at the time. To manage that power, Ford fitted the Focus RS with a Quaife Torque Biasing Differential that was so aggressive it made the car a handful on bumpy roads, but in the corners it stuck to the road like a magnet. The people at FRPP had another solution to getting traction out of an RS, and it involved ditching the Focus’s turbocharged four-cylinder entirely — it was time to inject some muscle car madness into a European hot hatch.
The Focus RS8 Is An Old School Rally Car With V8 Power
Highlights Of The 2004 Ford Focus RS8
- The Focus was powered by Ford’s 5.0-liter ‘Cammer’ crate V8
- The RS8 special was based on a real European-spec Ford Focus RS
- Extensive modifications were made to the transmission tunnel to convert the Focus to rear-wheel drive
The decision was made to get hold of a Focus RS and drop the new 5.0-liter ‘Cammer’ mill into its nose. In stark contrast to the wild, rainbow-colored Subarus and Toyotas that populated SEMA in 2003, the Focus RS8 would look like a stock RS — complete with Imperial Blue paint — until you opened the hood. But that didn’t mean it was a case of a straight engine swap and a drive to the show. The car needed to be converted to rear-wheel drive, so it received a new suspension setup and rear axle.
The RS8 Had To Be Extensively Modified
Modified MacPherson struts were installed up front, and the Focus received an 8.8-inch solid rear axle from a Mustang in the back, mounted on coil springs. Mustang-based four-wheel disc brakes were just visible behind 18×8-inch RS wheels. The mighty motor was connected to a Tremec five-speed manual transmission.
The engine appeared to fit in the Focus’s bay as if it were stock. It came complete with a wiring harness to simplify installation. The result was a V8-powered, rear-drive Focustang — or can we say Mucus? — with 420 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque. The RS8 was virtually impossible to distinguish from a standard RS, apart from the hidden twin exhaust outlets emerging from where a set of rear lights once sat in the bumper.
Here’s What Happened To The Ford RS8 – And How You Could Build Your Own Mucus
Ford Racing Performance Parts further refined the RS8. The engine was upgraded with ported heads and longer-duration cams, while the car’s suspension was tweaked to better plant down all the power. The car can be seen and heard in rare videos on YouTube (see above). The RS8 soon disappeared into a Ford heritage garage somewhere, but that didn’t mean the end of the car, or at least the concept. For a number of years, Ford Racing Performance Parts gave buyers the option to build their own from the catalog, converting even a base model or wagon Focus into a V8 monster. According to forums, a few people actually did it, including to a four-door, standard-looking Focus.
Anyone Who Knew Their Way Around A Parts Catalog Could Make Their Own RS8
While it was estimated that Ford spent $104,960 on the RS8 — including a real Focus RS as the starting point — one respected car magazine calculated that by using the parts catalog, you could build your own RS8 for considerably less. The RS8 package, including a new 2004 Focus ZX3 Premium, labor, RS fenders, engine, wheels, Focus RS brake and suspension kit, and a host of other components, came to $65,737, which was around $15,000 more than a new E46 BMW M3 at the time. Which would you choose?
Source: Svtperformance.com
Related posts
Latest Post
No Comments