Virtual Reality

Ford launches the online configurator so you can build your dream Focus RS

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Yesterday Ford finally released the pricing and performance numbers for the forthcoming 2016 Focus RS. For the first time, Ford Performanceâ€™s hottest hatch will put down its 350 horsepower on North American asphalt. With a starting price of $36,605, it presents a tempting performance possibility.

A 2016 Focus RS in Nitrous Blue with the optional premium wheels looks pretty sick. The top-shelf wheel and tire package includes Michelin Pilot Cup Sport 2 tires, and if their grip is anything like the versions built just for the GT350R, the upgrade is well worth the extra $1,990.

Projected to arrive in the United States in the spring of 2016, this model has joined its FocusÂ brethren on Fordâ€™s online configurator. There you can spend a little time clicking your way to a virtual version of your dream RS and find out how much it will set you back.

Since the Focus RS is on our short list of possible new project cars, we spent a little time building and pricing one for ourselves. Itâ€™s really a pretty simple process, as unlike many new Fords, the Focus RS doesnâ€™t have a lot of available options. Almost all of the performance goodness is baked into the base car. The only real performance upgrade option is choosing a wheel and tire package. You can stick with the standard wheels or step up to the 19-inch Premium Painted Forged Alloy Wheels with Michelin Super Sport summer tires for $1,395. If you want even more grip, you can choose the premium wheels with the sticky Michelin Pilot Cup Sport 2 summer track tires for $1,990.

Stealth Gray is another intriguing color option among the limited color choices available for the RS. It is seen here with the base wheels

Before you pick a wheel and tire combo, the first important choice is selectingÂ one of four color options: Shadow Black, Frozen White, Nitrous Blue, and Stealth Gray. Only the signature Nitrous Blue hue carries an additional charge. However, for only $695 more what red-blooded performance enthusiast can resist being able to answer the inevitable â€˜What color is that?â€™ questions with a sly â€˜Nitrous Blueâ€™ answer?

Even the base seats are Recaros that are partially trimmed in leather. If you want full leather upholsteryâ€”and all the other toysâ€”you have to step up to the $2,785 RS2 Package. However, for that price you get a lot of extras, including an eight-way power driver seat, black leather Recaro seats with Miko-Dinamica inserts, heated mirrors, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and touchscreen navigation. The only other toy outside that package is the $895 moonroof.

This is Frozen White with the Premium wheel option, which works well because the wheels allow you to see the brake calipers, which really stand out in contrast with the white exterior. — This is Frozen White with the Premium wheel option. The combo works well because the wheels allow you to see the brake calipers, which really stand out in contrast with the white exterior.

We dialed one in with all the goodies but the moonroof and it raised the price to $42,075, which is about $13,000 more than our loaded Focus ST, and in the ballpark ofÂ a 2015+ Mustang GT with all the bells and whistles. That said, the Focus RS should be a heck of a car and it will be interesting to see how the US market reacts to this new option from Ford Performance.

You can build and price your own Focus RS right here.