Number's Up For Ford Focus RS

The last Ford Focus RS has left Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany, marking the final chapter in the production story of the most successful fast Ford ever.

The last of the 215PS, WRC-inspired performance models carries the edition number ‘4501’, reflecting Ford’s intention to build no more than 4,500. Focus RS been sold in 21 countries across Europe, with British customers snapping up by far the largest share – 2,147 Focus RS have their steering wheels on the right hand side.

Said Ford of Britain’s managing director, Paul Thomas: "We always knew Focus RS would be a sales winner, but we could never have predicted its fantastic reception and the effect it had in re-igniting passion for the Ford RS brand."

Created as a no-compromise performance car, Focus RS was developed with the assistance of Ford’s WRC drivers and with the performance car cognoscenti in mind, partnering with key motorsport names including Sparco, OZ Racing and Brembo.

The 4,501 Focus RS production cars were built two months faster than originally predicted, with the last one being driven off the line on 3 November – 394 days since production began on 2 October 2002.