Ford Focus RS Le Mans Classic

Ford just released another special batch of Focus RS models, this time limited to just five copies. Well, technically, it is a five car run of five individual models – five 1-of-1 editions honoring five different iconic racers from Ford’s illustrious Le Mans past. Prepared by Ecurie Ford France, the special editions get a few upgrades besides their special heritage paint jobs that pay tribute to vintage Le Mans champs like the Ford GT40s that dominated from 1966-1969.

All five get customized interiors, with leather and diamond-quilted Alcantara Recaro seats front and rear, color-matched stitching, leather gearshift gaiter, hand brake handle, central arm-rest and seat belt guides on the front seats. They also get a dash plaque, either the RS or RS Technology packages and one of the 600 Le Mans Classic 3-dial automatic chronograph watches to be produced.

Just these five cars will be built and they’ll only be sold after they’ve been driven by some Ford VIPs for a few parade laps at the 2010 Le Mans Classic in July. After that, they’re all yours if you’re one of the lucky five. While on track, the Le Mans Classic editions will share space with another limited edition Focus RS – the Ford Focus RS500, with its menacing matte black providing a stark contrast to the race liveries of the other cars. Read the press release below to find out the specifics.

Press Release:
FORD FOCUS RS LE MANS CLASSIC: A COLLECTION OF 5 UNIQUE EXAMPLES CREATED TO PAY TRIBUTE TO LEGENDARY FORD LE MANS RACERS

Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 21 June 2010 - Ecurie Ford France, one of the partners of the popular
Le Mans Classic event which takes place between July 9th and 11th, has prepared a collection of just five Focus RS cars in unique colour schemes, each paying tribute to the Ford cars which made
‘blue oval’ history at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Each of the five Focus RS Le Mans Classic vehicles will be finished in the colours of one of the Ford cars which made 24 Hours history for Ford. During the event itself, they will even carry the race number of the cars to which they’re paying tribute:

• Black with silver stripes: a reference to the Ford Mk II, which was victorious in 1966.
• Red with white stripes: recalling the Mk IV which won in 1967.
• White with a thin blue centre stripe surrounded by a red border: echoing the decoration of the beautiful Ford Mk IIB, entered by Ford France in the 1967 Le Mans 24-hours.
• Two-tone sky blue and orange: A modern take on the GT40s which dominated Le Mans in 1968 and 1969.
• Two-tone white and blue: representing the livery of the Capri RS 2600 which took the Touring category in 1972.

All five exclusive Focus RS vehicles also have customised interiors. The Recaro seats are upholstered in leather and diamond-quilted alcantara, front and back, with stitching that matches the bodywork. The gearshift gaiter, hand brake handle and central arm-rest are upholstered in real leather, and a leather safety belt guide has been added to the front seats.

Each of the five cars will carry a personalised numbered plaque on the dashboard confirming its exclusivity as part of the collection.

The five cars will be seen in action at the 2010 Le Mans Classic in July, and will be driven on a number of laps of the full track at the start of a number of the different ‘grid’ races reserved for cars of a particular era, with Ford-invited special guests and VIPs at the wheel.

The Focus RS Le Mans Classic units will be joined on the track by the limited edition Ford Focus RS500, whose futuristic matt black livery will be an equally eye-catching addition to the palette of colours which have fired the imaginations of countless fans of Ford and the greatest endurance race in the world.

Only Five For Sale
Once the fifth Le Mans Classic event is over, these five unique Focus RS Le Mans Classic vehicles will be put up for sale, and will be offered with exclusive accessories. Fitted with either RS(1) or RS Technology(2) packs, they will be supplied with a Le Mans Classic watch - a 3-dial automatic chronograph with large date display and sapphire background of which only 600 are to be produced.

The 5 cars to which the Ford Focus RS Le Mans Classic is paying tribute:
The Ford Mk II (victorious in 1966): on the 18th of June 1966, Henry Ford II himself gave the starting signal for the 24th Le Mans 24 Hours. He let loose a pack of fifty-five vehicles led out by two of the eight Mk IIs entered by the manufacturer plus six GT40s, including one belonging to Ford France which was driven by Guy Ligier and the American Bob Grossman. The duel with Ferrari was at its peak for this “race of the century”. Unbeaten since 1960, the Italian marque was the queen of Le Mans. However, this time it was the Americans who dominated, pulling off a spectacular triple! For the first time ever, the 200km/h average speed barrier was broken at
Le Mans.

The Ford Mk IV (winner in 1967): Wanting revenge, Ferrari sent its formidable 330 P4s to challenge the Mk IVs in a face-to-face battle without mercy. However, it was all in vain. The unstoppable red, white-trimmed Mk IV, piloted by Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt, wiped the floor with Lodovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes’ P4. Unforgettable new pages in the history of motor sport were being written before everyone’s eyes. The epic tale of the Mk IIs and Mk IVs concluded with the spectacular distance (5,232.9 km) and average speed (218 km/h!) records set by Ford that year.

The Ford GT40 (victorious in 1968 and 1969): Even though Ford as a manufacturer was not directly involved, John Wyer’s JWA team benefitted from Gulf Oil sponsorship and the blessing of Ford Dearborn. For their first outing in 1968, the GT40s faced some keen and challenging competition from Porsche and Alfa Romeo. Driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi, the GT40 clearly dominated the field ahead of a Porsche 907 and three Alfa Romeo 33/2s. This third consecutive Ford victory was the first for a genuine GT40.

In 1969, competition was as intense and varied as ever: Porsche was in attendance with its 908s and its new 917s, Matra introduced its 630/650s and Ferrari was back again with its 312 Ps. Nevertheless, once again the GT40 beat them all, sweeping the boards at the end of an epic duel. Jacky Ickx raced across the finish line leaving the German Hans Hermann 120 metres behind and red faced at the wheel of his Porsche. The GT40 drove away with Ford’s fourth consecutive victory at Le Mans!

Capri RS 2600 (1st in the Special Touring category in 1972): Tenth overall, the Capri RS 2600, driven by Gerry Birrel and Claude Bourgoignie, dominated its category during the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours. Manufactured between 1969 and 1986, the Ford Capri enjoyed a great sporting career and was one of the great leaders of the European Touring Car Championships and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. It also shone in the Production Cars Championship of France and the famous British Touring Car Championship. Many Formula 1 drivers distinguished themselves at the wheel of a Capri, including Jochen Mass, Hans Stuck and the Tyrrell Racing duo of Jackie Stewart and François Cevert during the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard Circuit organised in 1972. The rally version of the Capri also appeared in the colours of Ecurie Ford France with internationally renowned drivers such as Jean-François Piot, Guy Chasseuil, Jean Vinatier and Jean-Claude Gamet at the wheel.

Ford Mk II Ecurie Ford France (1967): Jo Schlesser teamed up with his friend Guy Ligier on only one occasion at Le Mans. That was in 1967, in a magnificent white Ford Mk II powered by a seven litre V8 engine. An early track exit crushed their hopes in the 13th hour. However, driving the same car, they won the last ever 12 Hours of Reims, the other former great French endurance race. Jo Schlesser, a driver with an incredibly eclectic talent, was killed during the 1968 French Grand Prix. He was one of Ecurie Ford France’s most emblematic drivers, racing on track circuits, in rallies and in a famous hill climbing race of the time, the Mont-Ventoux.

(1) RS pack: Recaro front and rear seats, parking assist, heat-reflective, heated windshield, keyless entry and starting system.
(2) RS Technology pack: DVD navigation system with touchscreen and reversing camera,
8-speaker CD-MP3 player, bluetooth-2 kit, volume-sensing perimeter alarm and tyre-pressure monitoring system.

While some of us aren’t lucky enough to even get the Ford Focus RS in their country (hint hint, Ford Oz), the current model is entering its final stages of life.

Cue the limited edition model! Or in this case, plural: not one but five special Le Mans edition models have been made by Ford of France, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the biennial Le Mans Classic event on July 9 - 11.

The Classic, which started in 2002, uses the same circuit as Le Mans, and is open to cars from six different production eras. Ford France has dressed up for five, painting their entries in famous Le Mans livery and launching them with a few display laps of the track.

The colour schemes are, clockwise from left:

• Blue and orange - The famous Gulf colours marking the Ford GT40’s triumphs in 1968 and 1969
• Black and silver - The 1966 Mark II, which trounces the Ferrari P3 and ends a six-year winning streak
• Blue and white - For lovers of the Capri, aping the colors of the German Ford team’s RS 2600 that won the touring category and finished tenth in 1972
• Red and white - the 1967 Mark IV which made it two-for-two for Ford
• White with blue center stripe - The1967 Mk IIB

The interiors of each car will reflect the exterior paint scheme, with leather and alcantara trim broken by colour-matched stitching. Each car carries the signature lim-ed plaque with its production line number, and comes with a matching Le Mans watch.

The Ford Focus Rallye Sport is one of those cars that we’ve long admired from afar, mainly because Ford, in their infinite wisdom, has deemed it unfit for American consumption. Heck, the Blue Oval never even imported the degrees-of-magnitude-better European Focus in any guise for that matter. That makes it extremely unlikely that we’d ever see the rumored Clubsport model, the exclamation point set to cap off the long run of the current generation car.

That 350 horsepower ripper is propelled by Ford’s highly lauded 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine, and features lightweight racing seats, a lowered and stiffened suspension and stickier rubber at the corners. With a 0 to 60 run projected to be under five seconds, it sounded like just the ticket for a little WRX/Evo hunting. Although we’re saddened that we’ll likely never see one on these shores (perhaps at Cars & Coffee in ten years), there is a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

The latest web gossip says that a new version of the RS has been greenlighted by Ford, based on the new Focus platform that was recently unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. With the new Focus being a global car, that would seemingly tell us that his model might have a much better chance of coming Stateside.

And as if that weren’t entertaining enough, there’s scuttlebutt indicating the car might the launchpad for a new high-performance Ecoboost Hybrid.  Built around Ford’s 2.0-liter Ecoboost four cylinder, the additional electric motor would apparently send torque to the rear tires while the petrol mill powers the fronts. That unique all-wheel drive arrangement could get the 0-60 run below five seconds and push the RS to a top speed of 155 miles per hour.

While this hybrid RS is likely a long way off, there’s also a slightly more probable 240-horsepower Ecoboost Focus ST in the works, That car could appear within the next 18 months. Fingers crossed…

We all know the Ford motor company has been deep in drivetrain R&D for the past few years, and the new decade will see in a massive new line of engines and transmissions – 15, to be precise.

At the Detroit Motor Show later this week, Ford has popped the hood on nine new or significantly modified engines and six new transmissions that will be sunk into engine bays by the end of the year.

This includes Ford’s first 2.0L direct fuel injection four in the 2012 Ford Focus, a 1.6-liter dual clutch drivetrain in the Fiesta’s Ti-VCT spruiking 40 mpg on the highway, new 3.7L 305hp V6 and 5.0L 412hp V8 engines and six-speed trannies for the Mustang, and an EcoBoost 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 for the F-150.

“Ford is delivering on our commitment to lower emissions, improve fuel economy and deliver the highest quality powertrains in the industry,” said the VP of Powertrain Engineering, Barb Samardzich.

“By the end of 2010, nearly all of Ford’s North American engines will have been upgraded or replaced since 2008.”

When 2013 rolls around, the company will have introduced 60 new or overhauled engines across its line as part of this five-year plan. The manufacturer anticipates its green EcoBoost line will be available on 90 percent of its line-up, selling 1.3 million units around the world.

“We are focused on sustainable technology solutions that can be used not for hundreds or thousands of cars, but for millions of cars, because that’s how Ford will truly make a difference,” said Samardzich.

2010 Engines

1.6-liter Fiesta I-4

2.0-liter Focus DI I-4

2.0-liter EcoBoost I-4

3.5-liter F-150 EcoBoost V-6

3.7-liter Mustang V-6

5.0-liter Mustang V-8

5.4-liter Shelby GT 500 V-8

6.2-liter Super Duty (gas)

6.7-liter Super Duty Power Stroke

2010 Transmissions

6-speed automatic FWD

6-speed PowerShift Fiesta

6-speed PowerShift Focus

6-speed manual Mustang

6-speed automatic Mustang

6-speed automatic TorqShift Super Duty