With 346 bhp and all-wheel drive from the factory, the Ford Focus RS is a very capable automobile. Matt Watson from the CarWow YouTube channel put the hot hatch up against a 577-bhp all-wheel-drive-Mercedes G63 and a 603-bhp Mercedes E63 S AMG estate. That said, all is not lost for the Ford because the Focus RS in the video has a trick up its sleeve.
The RS in the video has been heavily modified by the tuners at Mountune. The engine has been fettled with around £15,000 in upgrades such as a bigger turbo, stronger engine internals, a new intercooler, and a completely new exhaust system. All of the upgrades mean that the RS in the video makes 513 bhp, and 516 pound-feet of torque.
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With the upgraded power plant in the RS, you may think that it levels the playing field. Yes, the RS is lighter than both of the Mercs but its biggest disadvantage is still its manual gearbox.
Right at the start of the first run the three were relatively equal with each other. That said, after the end of the initial acceleration phase, the E63 estate left the G63 and Focus RS behind. The extra power in the G63 propelled it to second place, just barely in front of the Ford.
From a standing start, the rapid E63 estate completed the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds with the G63 crossing the line in 12.4 seconds and the Focus RS in 12.5. Even after doing the second race from a rolling start, it yielded the same result. In the final braking test, the E63 estate was surprisingly victorious, followed by the Focus RS and G63 bringing up the rear.
So the answer to our question is, while the E63 is out of reach for the Focus RS, it can keep up with the G63. Is this video then a demonstration in the advantage of a fast changing automatic gearbox in the E63, or weight saving in the Focus RS?
Source: CarWow