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How the Mustang EcoBoost Makes 345hp in the Focus RS

Ford Motor Company has finally announced the official power figures for the 2016 Ford Focus RS and even though it uses a similar engine to that found in the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost, it makes substantially more power in this new all-wheel drive super-hatch – packing 345 horsepower and 347lb-ft of torque.

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When Ford Motor Company introduced the 2016 Ford Focus RS earlier this year, they simply said that it would offer at least 315 horsepower from a specially tuned version of the same 2.3L EcoBoost 4-cylinder in the new Ford Mustang. I had speculated that it would deliver 325 horsepower and 350lb-ft of torque while others expected the numbers to sit around 350 horsepower and 375lb-ft of torque. Everyone who guessed that the numbers would be in that range were kind of right, as my torque figure was close, but my horsepower numbers were a bit low.

Official Ford Focus RS Power
The 2016 Ford Focus RS is powered by a 2.3L EcoBoost 4-cylinder that delivers 345 horsepower and 324lb-ft of torque under normal conditions, but the new Focus RS also has an overboost mode that allows this motor to make 347lb-ft of torque for bursts of up to 15 seconds at a time. This will be particularly helpful for those owners who are taking their Focus RS drag racing while also being great for blasting down straightaways on a road course before dropping back to normal boost mode through the turns.

To get the extra power out of the 2016 Ford Focus RS, the 2.3L EcoBoost engine from the Mustang has been fitted with a different turbocharger, an upgraded intake system, a larger exhaust system and a larger radiator, which helps keep this high performance mill cool over long periods of track time. This power is put to the ground via a 6-speed manual transmission and a new advanced all-wheel drive system that should be one of the best-performing systems of its type in the segment.

Focus RS VS The Competition
When the 2016 Ford Focus RS arrives, it should be one of the highest performance hatchbacks sold in the world.

The three most well-known sport compacts sold in the US right now are the Subaru WRX STI, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and the Volkswagen Golf R. The Subaru offers 305 horsepower and 290lb-ft of torque, the Evo offers 291 horsepower and 300lb-ft of torque and the Golf R offers 292hp and 280lb-ft of torque. In other words, the Focus RS should crush those three popular sport compacts while also having a price in the same general range.

Even if you go upscale, the new Ford Focus RS has a good chance of competing with some of the biggest names in small-car performance. The BMW M235i has 320hp/330lb-ft of torque, the Mercedes Benz AMG CLA45 has 355hp/332lb-ft of torque and the Audi RS3 has 362hp/343lb-ft of torque, giving the overboosting Focus RS over those far pricier high performance models.

Goodwood Debut
The 2016 Ford Focus RS will make its formal on-track debut at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed and the video below offers a look at the new super-hot hatch during its final testing before heading to the hill climb.
The Focus RS sounds absolutely amazing, so crank up your speakers and enjoy!

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Comments

Chance (not verified)    July 22, 2015 - 12:42PM

I see that it indeed does, and it indeed uses overboost, which is the same thing the Focus ST uses to have 12~ more hp than the Escape... This doesn't answer the question "How the Mustang EcoBoost Makes 345hp in the Focus RS". Are there any PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES in the motor it's self? or is it all done with tuning and extra cooling (I'm assuming the intake is to change how the pipes fit on it)?

jordan (not verified)    January 20, 2016 - 2:22PM

In reply to by Chance (not verified)

If you actually took the time to read you would find this in the article " To get the extra power out of the 2016 Ford Focus RS, the 2.3L EcoBoost engine from the Mustang has been fitted with a different turbocharger, an upgraded intake system, a larger exhaust system and a larger radiator "

Chance (not verified)    January 22, 2016 - 12:46PM

Everything I've read says it's the same twin scroll turbo, and the intake would be different due to it being transverse in the RS. Nothing they have said would indicate that there were physical changes in the engine it's self (like compression, internals, etc.) My guess its they put a bigger IC on it and gave it more spark advance, and fuel via a tune. Even the wikipedia article lumps the 2.3l motors into the same group.( as reliable as Wikipedia can be obviously) Judging by how you can easily get the mustang to that power level with a tune and an air filter, I'm going to assume the motors and turbos are identical.

Richard blevins (not verified)    March 26, 2016 - 10:01AM

I own a 15 Eco boost with performance package. I drove a base GT but liked the balance of the 4. Also I always modify my Mustangs ,I have owned several, and the 4 is very easy to make power from bolt on's. According to American Muscle a JMS boost control will add 40-50 hp. Roush claims 29 hp with a cold air kit. SCT tune adds 30 hp. All of them together don't make the claims individual advertised but they will make around 60 rear wheel hp for around $1200 . That is about 80 hp at the crank taking the Mustang to about 390 hp. American Muscle car with these mods is running in the 12's. It is a lot of fun to have a 141 cubic inch 4 running that fast.

Chance Fulton (not verified)    March 28, 2016 - 11:37AM

In reply to by Richard blevins (not verified)

I have a ~290whp Focus ST that I've only got about 1100$ in bolt-ons and tune. At 2.0L it's a rocket, but severely limited by turbo size, which I hope to increase soon. The tune alone was the single largest gain, followed by the IC, and then the down-pipe. It also has 80k miles on it... So yeah, they come pretty conservative from the factory.

Justin Choate (not verified)    March 18, 2019 - 2:45PM

I have a 2016 Focus St with the stage 2 mod from the factory. I was curious if the Mustang 2.0L turbocharged motor parts would fit my 2.0L turbocharged Focus? I use to work for Ford in there Atlanta Assembly Plant for several years. People are always tuning motors and inter changing parts from one motor to the other increasing horsepower. Like a Cobra Supercharger pulley changed out with the Lighting pulley will increase your boost resulting in more horsepower. I don't have lots of money for expensive tunes. But you can find cars in junk yards with perfectly like new motors. This is why I was asking if anyone knows?