they can, if you don't mind paying for it. you can have better, stronger, faster or you can have reasonable price point, which is key to nowletsgetthisdone's post. you can't have both.

 

We shall see. The sports car market is heating up and nearly all the big players are getting back into the game. The Focus RS is just the first of many new performance cars we will see in the next few years. We were just so starved for new performance cars the last 8 years or so that the first bone they throw us looks like a steak.

CTR, BMW M2, Mazda Rx7/9, Toyota FT1, mid life refreshes for FT86 and BRZ, new gen Impreza, VW R400, baby NSX & S1000, are all right around the corner.

 

and i can't wait!!

 

I think the FRS/BRZ and Miata prices tell you all you need to know... both of those are around 25k, and while fun to drive, really give you a low level of performance... Next closest thing is the Mustang (I think you can manage to get a stripper V8 in the 20's still), but thats heavy cause they saved money on cheaper heavy materials for lots of it...

while there are lots of awesome cars on the horizon, you're gonna have to pay for them...

 

But the increased competition means you will get more for your money. While I don't see them trying to undercut each other on price, I do think they will each be packing more into their cars for a given price point. Hell even Kia (see Stinger) look to be making a sports car.

 

i miss understood then, i thought it will prevent you from stalling when you drifting. That is how i read the article. This way at least the wheel does slow you down when you stall in gear, and doesnt spin freely as it would with a clutch in... etc.

 

To be fair, you're comparing a pre-release number obtained by the manufacturer to an online 0-60 number from an unknown third party source. It's not uncommon for real world 0-60s to be lower than those obtained by the manufacturer. I know both the STI and Evo have lower times reported in the magazines than on their respective manufacturer websites.

 

They can be, but at what price? The evo 8/9, and arguably the X, are veritable **** boxes with crap interior, crap paint (especially the 8/9). All of which helped save weight. Along with investment in lots of aluminum suspension and cross member components


Yes the Golf R is 3283 at the same MSRP as the RS. But none knows the actual curb weight of the RS. We're all simply guessing based on the weight of the FoST. Maybe Ford put some extra effort in and its <3400, maybe Ford didn't. Another thing to consider is that the Focus is a physically larger platform than the Golf, so attaining similar weight would require extra investment.

 

"Perform better" is a subjective phrase, and that argument largely ignores what letsgetthisdone is saying; the minimum standards expected of cars has increased. Cars have had to get fatter to provide the safety standards expected of them without a huge jump in price. I have no doubt Ford could produce a very safe car that weighs less than 3000 lbs with the same powerplant, but it'd cost an arm and a leg.

So far, we're looking at largely one performance aspect, acceleration. People are talking about 0-60 times. Nobody knows how the cars would stack up at a track, or an autocross course. Even if an Evo 9 was faster, I wouldn't buy a nearly 10 year old Evo 9 over a new Focus RS unless I wanted a dedicated track car, in which case I'd buy a damn Z06.

 

The Golf R is tiny. I was genuinely surprised at how small it was when I sat in it. It feels fine from the front seat, and the back is OK, but the hatch is tiny.

 

"Curiously, the Focus RS does not use any lightweight materials to replace steel in the body or structure; there are no carbon-fiber or aluminum panels, for instance." https://www.cars.com/articles/2015/0...rs-first-look/

 

Carbon Fiber and aluminum are expensive...

 

And brutal to repair. People are upset about the F-150 containing more aluminum because of the increased repair costs.

 

Are aluminum panels really that much more expensive to make than steel? Really?

 

The panel itself, not so much, adhering it to the rest of the structure... definitely.

If memory serves, it's also not very good about deformation (in other words, no paintless dent removal or easy bonding of bigger dents), and repainting it is more challenging.