Mountune muscle announced for Ford Focus RS

FORD hatchback tuning specialist Mountune has been up to its power-boosting and torque-tickling tricks again, this time for the freshly unveiled Focus RS, with a simple kit that bumps power to a serious 276kW and lifts torque to a stump-pulling 510Nm.

The kit consists of a higher-flow induction, which connects a new air filter, uprated boost recirculating valve, engine management recalibration and, of course, the all-important Mountune boot badge.

But like the kits that Mountune already offers for the Fiesta and Focus ST performance pair, the RS upgrade does not come cheap. Ford Australia is yet to confirm the kit for local sale, but in the United Kingdom fast Ford fans are asked for 899 ($A1543) including installation.

Ford Australia product communications manager Damion Smy said the kit was not yet destined for local sale alongside kits that it currently offers for the Fiesta and Focus ST, but it is not out of the question at this stage.

“We haven’t confirmed this for Oz, but aren’t ruling it out either,” he said.

“So it may join the list in the future, but we can’t yet confirm this.”If the kit is offered Down Under then the equivalent price would equate to $81 per kW or $39 per Newton metre.

Over the standard RS, the Mountune fettling liberates an extra 19kW and an impressive sounding 70Nm, although the factory RS has a 15-second overboost function that tops up torque to 470, so the tuning work technically adds 40Nm on to the peak grunt figure.

With the more potent output from its 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder petrol unit, the Mountune RS has shaved two tenths from the regular zero to 100km/h acceleration, with the milestone flashing up in just 4.5s. Top speed remains the same at 266km/h.

Unlike the plethora of aftermarket tuning bits available for the Focus RS through numerous channels, the Mountune kits are factory-backed, and Ford’s warranty is unaffected by the installation of the extras.

By comparison, the RS kit is better value when compared with the kits it already offers for the Fiesta ST and Focus ST in Australia, which cost $2328 and $4135 respectively.

The tune-up takes the Fiesta ST output up by 24kW to 158kW and 320Nm at a cost of $97 per kilowatt and $29 per Nm, while the Focus ST increase of 18kW to 202kW and 400Nm costs a whopping $230 per kilowatt and $75 per Nm.

Mountune output still not potent enough? Focus fans looking for something even more capable than the tuned-up RS can keep everything crossed for the possibility of an RS500, which has not been ruled out.

No official confirmation has yet been issued for the hyperbolic Focus, but the giant-slaying variant is likely to pump the power even higher, weigh less and have a dual-clutch transmission in place of the six-speed manual.