Ford Focus GGR RS370FR

Front-wheel drive hatchback’s don’t come any more extreme than this - the savage in-gear acceleration really has to be experienced to be believed. Taking into account the conversion will invalidate your Ford warranty, although Graham Goode Racing provides 12-month/30,000-mile cover, this performance pack isn’t for the faint hearted. And with a price tag of £3,750 plus VAT before you’ve upgraded the brakes it’s not cheap either. But if you want to stand out from the crowd and enjoy the thought of leaving Porsche Boxters trailing in your wake, it’s well worth a look.

This very special Focus RS is on a power trip! One thing the standard 300bhp RS has never lacked is performance, but that hasn’t stopped fast-Ford specialists, Graham Goode Racing, from turning up the heat on the blue oval’s flagship Focus hatch. We drove the lightly-warmed GGR RS340 back in September, but now it’s time to tackle it’s bigger brother, the white-hot 175mph GGR RS370FR...

Mechanical changes are far more comprehensive than the RS340’s simple ECU remap, although the building block is the same 2.5-litre turbocharged engine. A new carbon-fibre induction system, larger intercooler and bigger injectors all help stuff more fuel into the cylinders, while a large bore exhaust and a further ECU remap finish off the modifications. The result is a juicy 368bhp and 460Nm of torque and like the factory car, it’s all channelled through the front tyres.

In the interests of safety, Graham Goode Racing is also offering an optional AP Racing front brake package. For £2,294 you can replace the front stoppers with larger 362mm grooved discs, clamped by either black or high gloss red calipers.

Graham Goode is keen to emphasise that this is a fast road car (hence the ‘FR’ in the car’s title), not just a track-day special. And it certainly lives up to its name. There are no official 0-60mph times yet, although accleration off the line feels similar to the standard car, but once on the move, the in gear performance is gobsmacking. We hit 160mph on a closed test-track and the car was still pulling hard. Luckily the upgraded brakes wiped the speed off with ease - although we’d be hard pushed to recommend them unless you spend a lot of tiime on track.

In corners it has the same adjustability and poise as the stock RS, but more careful use of the throttle is called for to avoid spinning the front tyres and understeering off your intended line. Like on the GGR RS340 torque steer is unavoidable, but there’s far less than you’d expect from what’s essentially a front-wheel drive supercar. Our only disappointment though, is that the extra induction noise has hushed the standard model’s fantastic five-cylinder warble.

Rival: Subaru Impreza STI 330S
The fastest model the Japanese firm officially offers has the advantage of 4WD traction - dropping it’s 0-60mph time to just 4.4 seconds. Vague steering is our only quibble with what’s undoubtedly the best Impreza Subaru currently makes.