Ford Puts the Limited-Slip in Focus RS Limited Edition

The driftiest little hatch gains a limited-slip differential up front.

byKyle Cheromcha|
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In these troubled times, Ford has a really good thing going with the Focus RS, or as our Matt Farah calls it, "the world's finest hot hatch." Sure, some people whined about the open front differential, but you can always find someone to complain about the food at a strip club. Still, Ford Performance decided to humor the haters with a limited edition swan song featuring a host of cosmetic upgrades and, you guessed it, a limited-slip differential up front.

The Ford Focus RS already has a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system that we simple folk shorthand as "drift mode," but Ford claims the addition of a Quaife mechanical LS differential in the aptly-named Limited Edition will further sharpen the handling and add more traction under heavy acceleration. There, now the strip club is serving cage-free eggs at the breakfast buffet. Happy?

In addition to the axle upgrade, Ford has added another paint option for the model's final year—Race Red, which honestly looks more orange. That brings the total to five colors for the RS, though you're stuck with the new red or Nitrous Blue with the Limited Edition. It also features blackened exterior trim pieces, forged wheels, and an interior festooned with carbon fiber and the RS2 (heated Recaro seats and wheel, voice navigation, etc.) comfort package.

YouTube | Ford Performance

If this suits your style, you should act fast. Even though Ford never put a hard cap on the overall Focus RS production numbers, that's not the case here with the end of the line approaching—only 1500 Limited Editions will be made this fall, 500 of which will go to Canada, doncha know. We at The Drive say let our northern neighbors import all the hot hatches we can't touch yet, and save the rare home-grown talent for ourselves.

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