Ford have finally taken the wraps off their new rally contender, the Fiesta S2000. “This is the first global rally car for Ford and M-Sport,” says M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson. “I really believe that we have produced a fantastic rally car and this launch is a big step to seeing it out competing in rallies. It’s the first time...

Neither the Ford Focus RS nor the Mazda 3 MPS are the most obvious choices for a competition that’s all about fuel economy, and yet they were two of the competitors in the 2009 MPG Marathon. The idea of the MPG Marathon is to improve on the official fuel consumption figures as provided by the EU, demonstrating that even the less fuel-efficient...

If you’ve seen the latest Ford UK advert and found yourself slightly underwhelmed at the thought of owning a new Focus, try the following advert from Mexico. It even features a brief appearance from a bright green Focus RS, a car that would be too politically incorrect to be advertised on British TV: To remind you of the dreary advertisements we have...

Ford and German magazine Sport-Auto have released a couple of videos of its Focus RS lapping the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The RS is driven by Horst von Saurma-Jeltsch, Chief editor of the magazine and a well-known Nurburgring racer. The lap-time for the 300bhp hot hatch was 8:26, beating the 8:51 target set by the 225HP Focus ST (set by Sport-Auto in...

As part of Ford’s publicity drive for the new Fiesta before it launches in the US, a pair of modified Fiestas have been competing in the 2009 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Driven by Marcus Gronholm, the 800bhp Fiesta looks quite at home on the twisting mountain route. Sadly Marcus’s time of 11:28.963 wasn’t enough to beat the best time of 10:15.368,...

If you happened to miss last night’s Top Gear then you missed out on a hot hatch treat – the Ford Focus RS up against the Renaultsport Megane R26.R. It starts off with Clarkson reviewing the Focus, and then Hammond turns up in the R26.R. Cue some bickering, nit-picking, a bit of a race and then they decide which is the best. But you’ll have to...

The Ford Focus RS has been picking up all manner of enthusiastic reviews since it started doing the rounds in the motoring press, but it’s the old-shape Renaultsport Megane R26.R that’s proving to be the quicker car. Despite being considerably down on power (230bhp against 300bhp), the 238kg lighter R26.R is consistently posting faster lap times in...

Here’s another video of the Ford Focus RS in action, this time up against the Renaultsport Megane R26.R on Silverstone ‘s full GP circuit. So which is quicker – 301bhp and 1468kg or 227bhp and...