Ford confirms Focus RS makes 350 hp, 350 lb.-ft. of torque

Ford has confirmed the 2016 Focus RS will make 350 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque from its 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder—40 more horsepower and 30 lb.-ft. more torque than the Mustang powered by the same EcoBoost engine.

The Blue Oval has long said the Focus RS, which is set to go on sale in the spring, will make in the neighbourhood of 350 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque, giving it an output of 152 horsepower per litre.

Helping achieve that output is an all-new low-inertia twin-scroll turbocharger that features a larger compressor wheel that delivers more airflow and power throughout the rev range.

Peak turbocharger boost is 23.2 psi.

The manual-only Focus RS also features so-called "stall recovery," which eliminates the need for drivers to manually restart the engine or move the gear selector to neutral in the event of a stall.

According to Ford, the innovative technology allows drivers to simply push the clutch back in after a stall, with the engine restarting on its own.

"We knew we wanted to put start-stop technology on the RS," Tyrone Johnson, engineering and vehicle manager for Ford Performance Europe, said in a statement from Ford. "So we said, 'What if we went one step further, and controlled for engine stall at launch using the same technology?' Well, that’s exactly what we did and it’s just as fast as our start-stop technology."