Ford Focus RS Is A Righteous Rally Rig

For hard driving action, rally races are the hottest circuits around the world. Extremely popular in Europe, the standout rally rigs these days are customized versions of the new factory issued Ford Focus RS 5-Door Hatchback.

In the darkness of a late night airport pickup, the bright nitrous blue paint job of the Focus RS lights the outlines of a sharp sporty four door. Sitting astride blacked out 19 inch forged aluminum wheels and race ready Michelin Cup 2 tires, to its credit, aside from the color and the wing at the top of the rear hatch, this Ford mighty mite looks relatively demure.

Once planted in the snug Recaro racing seats, the command and control of this 2.3-liter turbo i4, AWD, 350 horsepower, six-speed manual pocket rocket is hands down the most fun you can have behind the wheel of a car for $36,000.

With this level of performance there are sacrifices. Rally cars are rough riders on virtually any surface, tending to smooth out at high speeds, making them good highway drivers.

To really get the driver revved the Focus RS comes equipped with a drift mode.