How You Can Buy a Focus RS in America This Weekend

The Ford Focus RS is one of those things that car geeks in America tend to hold in especially high, but totally unfounded regard.

I know nothing of what it’s like to drive one because I’ve never been behind the wheel. I’m told it’s a thrill ride, but much like the miles of commentary on the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Seat Ibiza, I’m left taking an opinion from someone else – usually in an English accent – about how they drive. Tragic as that might seem to me, I’m as likely to own a European Focus RS as I am an HSV GTS Maloo. Money doesn’t solve all of life’s problems, but it does a fine job of dispatching its inconveniences and this weekend, the unfortunate fact that there wasn’t ever a business case to sell previous versions of the Focus RS in America won’t matter.

That’s because someone went to the effort of importing and legalizing an MKII Focus RS and now it’s about to cross the Barrett-Jackson auction block in Palm Beach.

Lot number 99 is a 2010 Focus RS with 13,553 miles clocked on the odometer. It has half leather Recaro seats, black wheels, green paint and a bunch of performance modifications. In stock form, the Volvo-sourced five-cylinder turbo already makes 301 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque while the turbo crams air in at 20.3 psi. This car has an even bigger turbo and what sounds like the right modifications to make use of the extra boost. For example, it has an external wastegate, 1,000 cc injectors, larger valves and a new exhaust manifold, a beefier clutch and a better intercooler among other modifications. The description doesn’t say what sort of power this thing is kicking to the wheels, but you can bet that it’s significant. It’s being sold without a reserve and the first auction starts tomorrow.

Photos courtesy of Barrett-Jackson