cobalt

I attended an event at our local Porsche dealer yesterday. On the way home I was attacked by a Ford Focus RS. I had heard a lot of great things about these cars but this was my first encounter. I have to say I was impressed. It is a lot of car for the $$$. No doubt this will make a great little track toy for some.

So back to the attack. I was heading home minding my own business and coming back on a road that is usually not heavily traveled and has some nice straights and some tight little twisty parts. I was coming up on a twisty section not moving all that fast when this RS comes charging up from behind. It was easy to recognize especially with the brightly painted RS on the front left. The grill looked narrower than I expected but I was looking in my rear view mirror. I decided to put my foot down and to my chagrin it kept right up with me. He had to hear me since my car is not quiet so he was on my butt as I slammed the pedal down in 2nd gear around 4k rpm. Although he had the advantage of the charge and was gaining ground quickly when I saw him approaching once i punched it he could not gain on me and I couldn't pull from him. If I wasn't already committed to the turn I would have considered a down shift. We were pretty evenly matched in power. Handling I would say he was darting around quite a bit through the really tight sections but he kept right up. Not sure why but I believe once he realized he could not embarrass me he suddenly exited for no reason. Probably all for the better.

My car is pumping out 290hp 280 ft pounds of torque and has full RS suspension. About as well setup as a street 964 can be. Based on the numbers I read the RS should have me off the line but not by much. A lot of this car I am assuming has to do with the tranny like my A3 with power upgrade. For the money no doubt this is probably a great little ride.

I must conclude that the RS against a stock 964 would go easily to the RS. It seems to be a well setup toy. I have no idea what the driving experience is like I might have to try one out just for fun.

pu911rsr

The RS is an outrageously capable little car. Great for track use not so much as a DD. I recently bought a Golf R which is similar in concept but a little more grown up in execution. Great DD for Montana.

Phil

Spyerx

Little hoon of a car. Super quick. 350 hp, 4wd... but kinda heavy. and coming on 30 years newer technology.

I get that a lot when driving my RS on the road, especially in the canyons. My 964 isn't as flashy as yours :-)

However, get me on track and well, might be fast for a few laps but porsches keep going, and going, and going, and going. Brakes, cooling, etc etc.

This is a good writeup on a stock RS on track. These issues are so common with cars today, so far porsche seems to have these things handled:

http://www.focusrs.org/forum/9-focus...laws-real.html

u7t2p7

Radical thought; perhaps that is where he lived

jimq

Nah! Scaring him off makes a better road warier story

onevoice

I have gotten too old to worry about keeping up with anyone on the street, especially since there are MANY new cars that can leave a 964 in the dust. It is fun to "encourage" others to take off though. Last month I was on the interstate and a new zo6 vette came up in a similar fashion. Was already doing near 80, no way was I getting involved with a 650hp car. I did however get up close behind him when traffic cleared and he took the bait. I never accelerated, but he did, and holy cow did it take off.

The Focus rs is about 350hp, and about 500 lbs more than a 964, they run pretty well.

onboost

Been hearing a bit about these little boogers as well! Seeing a few of them around local cars and coffees too.

Which one of your toys were you driving? Regardless, Porsches make other drivers fell zoomie!

cobalt

It was my C2 which I tracked for a number of years. It is as well setup as a C2 can get without cutting them up or making them undriveable on the street.

I heard so much about these and since he made the first move I'll chalk it up to something in the spring like air. Cool 70 degrees both windows open and that sound just egging me to push it he just gave me the motivation. I figured it would be close but it just made me appreciate the C2 for the car it is. Considering the age and technology advancements it should be fast for the Hp. Still a cool little ride but too young styling for my tastes.

I would say my C2 is as quick and about handles the same as my 981GTS with sport package and 6 speed.

NokiaLumia

enjoy your ride for what it is. A wonderfully balanced Porsche.

If you want a newer car, now is a wonderful time to be a shopper. RS Ford, M2, Ford Mustang GT350, AudiTTS - so many great cars for the driver.