If you’re the sort of lunatic who looks at the new Ford Focus RS and still wants more you’re in luck, as British tuner Mountune has released details of its first upgrade kit for the 345bhp mega-hatch.
Having been in the business of modifying Ford cars for road, race and rally for 35 years now, in its time Mountune has grown to become one of the most recognisable and revered tuning houses around.
It’s got plenty of history with RS-badged products too, having been responsible for building the engines that powered RS versions of the Escort, Focus and Sierra to motorsports victory, and also being the company behind the Mk2 Focus RS500.
Now Mountune has turned its attention towards the new Focus RS, Top Gear’s reigning Car of the Year and the latest darling of the mega-hatch scene. The company hasn’t yet said when the upgrades are due to go on sale, but in the meantime check out what it has planned below.
Three-phase upgrade structure
Unlike previously-released Mountune kits for the likes of the Fiesta ST, Focus ST and the Mustang, the company will instead package kits for the RS into three phases as it continues to develop, refine and tweak its upgrades.
This first kit marks phase one, and according to Mountune is designed as a set of modifications that can be easily done and which offer small-to-medium improvements in performance and induction noise, shorter gear shifts and a restriction for excessive engine movement.
Included in phase one is beefed-up, high-flow intake pipework and a new airbox to boost airflow to the engine, along with a Quaife differential like the one available on the previous Mk2 RS, and a short-shift arm kit to make gear changes quicker and snappier.
There’s no word on what phase two and phase three will include yet as they’re still a while off, but it’s possible they could feature an ECU remap like those Mountune offers for the Fiesta ST and the Focus ST among other things.
Go Further Faster
Whatever the upgrades entail, the key aim from Mountune’s kits is to extract even more performance and potential from the already white-hot Focus RS to make it more powerful and therefore much faster.
According to the company, the phase one kit has been extensively developed on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife track, but so far has held off on quoting how much power it adds as it’s currently still going through the final sign-off process.
What Mountune has said is that power and torque improvements are “very noticeable”, as is the reduction in the RS’ 0-62mph sprint time and in other attributes of its performance.
Again, exact figures have yet to be released, but according to rumours from Ford’s team the phase one kit could boost output to as much as 380bhp, while future upgrades could reach as high as 400…
Factory warranty stays intact
Mountune prides itself as being the only current Ford tuner that offers upgrades which don't affect the factory warranty of the base vehicle.
While Mountune Racing packages will void the warranty agreement, Mountune Performance parts and packs for road cars like those that make up the RS package are covered by the standard Ford Warranty in the event of mechanical failures, paintwork faults or anything else.
This also stands for the Fiesta, Fiesta ST, the Focus ST and any other Ford model that comes fitted with or modified with a Mountune kit and which is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty agreement.
Like other Mountune kits, the upgrades can be fitted to any third-generation Focus RS, whether new or used, and the tuner will even throw in a minimum 12-month/12,000 mile warranty of its own to protect against manufacturing defects.
It’s not all about performance
As part of its phase one set, Mountune also offers a range of aesthetic upgrades for the new Focus RS, which can be specified as part of its performance package or bought separately for any RS whether it gets the powertrain enhancements or not.
Included is a set of lightweight 19-inch OZ alloy wheels, the same as those used by M-Sport, the company which builds Ford’s rally cars, and which are each nearly 3kg lighter than the standard RS’ alloys.
The OZ wheels are also wider than Ford’s standard wheel options to improve the contact patch of the tyres and to facilitate more clearance for big brake kits, and they come with Michelin’s semi-slick Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
Buyers can also specify a unique side-splash decal with the Mountune logo to be affixed to the side of the car, along with Mountune-branded floor mats, a Mountune gearknob and Mountune RS t-shirts.
Take a sneak peek below
It’s all well and good detailing the performance upgrades, but the real proof will always be in the pudding. Watch Mountune’s official teaser video for its phase one Focus RS upgrade below:
