Focus RS drift mode unplanned

The controversial drift mode launched with the Ford Focus RS hot-hatch was discovered by chance.

The mode, which retunes the car’s all-wheel drive system and reduces stability control intervention so the rear-end can slide more easily in corners has been slammed by the Australian road safety community. We covered off those concerns in a story that also dealt with the car’s lack of front-side airbags and ANCAP safety rating.

Drift mode is a world-first and was developed by Ford Performance as part of the Focus RS program. It is intended for closed-road use only.

The RS has just gone on-sale in Australia priced at $50,990 and the customer waiting list already stretches well into 2017.

Ford Performance vehicle and engineering manager Tyrone Johnson told motoring.com.au drift mode was discovered during testing when the RS’s twin-clutch AWD system was being developed. He insisted there was no pre-meditated plan to develop the mode.

“It wasn’t like that it was more like one of my guys sitting in the car - the lead dynamics guys sitting in the car – and next to him is the guy who is doing the calibration of the all-wheel drive system with a lap-top on his knees,” Johnson recalled.

“And they are talking and he says ‘oh let me try this out’ and he tries it and he says ‘oh that’s cool can you give me more of that’ and he gives him more and he says ‘that’s really cool’ and then it starts working.

“I guess it’s just because we are a bunch of crazy guys. We just do things,” , Johnson said.

Even then, Johnson explained, drift mode wasn’t locked in for the production RS until it was demonstrated to global technical and development chief, Raj Nair.

“We put it together and we showed it to Raj and we said ‘this is a nice little trick we can also do with this … with the mode system and the specific set-up for drifting capability’.

“And it was actually Raj who said we have got to market this, this is a cool feature. We need to make this a prominent part of the program, as opposed to a side note.”

That’s certainly now happened and has attracted as much attention – if not more - for the car in Australia as the rave reviews published by most automotive media and has now beaten AMG and Audi’s near-$30K more expensive uber-hatches.
Johnson wasn’t impressed by the prospect of Australiana road safety advocates targeting his car as a vehicle for hoons.

“You can cause damage with any car, so should all cars be banned?” he queried.

Read more on the technical package behind the Focus RS including Drift mode.