Ford Focus RS sold out

If you want a Ford Focus RS you better get in quick, because they're being snapped up like hot cakes. Dealer sources told motoring.com.au this morning that of the 600 RSs (approx) that will be coming into Australia in 2016, most, if not all, are already sold.

Deposits of between $1000 and $2000 will put you on the Focus RS wait list but won't guarantee you a vehicle, they told motoring.com.au. Indeed, one Melbourne dealer said demand could be so high that some deposits may need to be refunded.

Ford Australia is declining to comment in detail on the suggested waiting list, nor indeed the number of RS vehicles that will come Down Under.

Although the new-generation Focus RS is technically not a limited-edition model -- unlike the previous generation, of which only 315 came to Australia -- production will be capacity limited, sources told motoring.com.au at last week's international launch.

Built in Germany at Ford's Saarlouis plant, the Focus RS models are manufactured in left-and right-hand drive on the same production line as the regular Focus.

During the Ford Focus RS international launch in Spain, Ford Performance's chief engineer Tyrone Johnson said "We are capacity-limited."

To what?

"I can't tell you that," he responded, saying only that there are already 3700 pre-orders in Europe.

A senior Ford Europe executive later explained that "If there's huge demand, we can change things [at the factory], but it's also not a car that we would want to produce, say, 50,000 per year.

"There's also an attraction to having a limited number of cars," said the Ford exec.

The Focus RS is scheduled to arrive in Australia from mid-year, priced at $50,990 (one of the lowest global prices). It is powered by a tricked-up version of the Mustang's 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine belting out 257kW, paired to a six-speed manual transmission and clever new AWD system.

Check out our 2016 Ford Focus RS review, in which we awarded it 90/100.

When motoring.com.au asked Ford Australia's Brand Communications Manager, Neil McDonald, if the Australian allocation of Focus RS cars for 2016 was indeed 600, he said: "We don't talk about future product".

"Sometimes we order 50 cars and get 300," he said.

McDonald likened the car's situation to the one currently affecting Ford Mustang, which is facing a 12-month wait list. This has led to scalping by private buyers, who are charging up to $40,000 more than the retail price for a new Mustang.

Will the same thing happen with Ford's new Focus RS?

More on Focus RS:
>> Ford Focus RS Drift Mode tested
>> Ford Focus RS 2016 Review
>> Ford Focus RS 2016 track test