NeilRS2K’s Nitrous blue RS

[NEILRS2K]

Hello all,

Currently on a 3 day isolation awaiting my COVID19 test results in a hotel in Aberdeen prior to going back to work offshore.

As I have plenty of time on my hands, I thought it was a perfect time to share some updates and initial impressions of my nitrous blue Focus RS purchased back in January.

Just need to work out best way to upload photos! I’ll do a test and see if it works.

Obligatory dealership photo on collection.

So a bit about my motoring passion!

As some of you know I sold my previous toy of 5 and a half years in November last year. A lovely Daytona grey B7 RS4 Avant. The car was excellent and turned into a bit of a garage queen only getting around 500miles a year out of the garage. I loved it! The RS4 never missed a beat or gave me any big bills other than tyres (3 sets in my ownership) and a set of front discs and pads at £1k – ouch! I loved the noise and and drama of the high revving V8, the cartoon-esque wide wheel arches and the quattro all wheel drive – the handling was superb. However after 5 years (longest I have ever had any car) I was beginning to fancy a change.

Prior to the RS4 I had an 06 plate focus ST3 in electric orange for 3 years. The car was running stage 3 hardware and mapped to just shy of 300hp when I purchased it and was a bit of animal driven through the front wheels. There was masses of torque from the Volvo 5 pot which the car simply wasn’t built for! I went through a fair few sets of tyres and 2 clutches in my ownership having done a few track days in the ST. Should have beefed up the clutch after the first one went with a MK2 RS one but lack of funds didn’t allow at the time. The car was epic fun though, a great chassis and an awesome soundtrack from the 5 cylinder engine. Loved the colour and really missed it when I changed to the more grown up Daytona grey Audi (probably part of the reason I was drawn to the nitrous blue MK3)

Stick with me, I’ll try and get some photos and then get to my review of the MK3 RS!

[NEILRS2K]

 

[NEILRS2K]

[NEILRS2K]

Some photos of the old grey bus.

[NEILRS2K]

[NEILRS2K]

Electric orange ST3 – spot the 5 cylinder turbos (clue – there are 3 in this photo)

[coastliner]

I think I would have stuck with the RS4, its in a different league to the Ford.

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Coastliner

[NEILRS2K]

Hopefully there are plenty fellow petrol heads on here as sad and bored as I am to appreciate a bit of a long winded write up.

My passion for the RS brand has been with me from a young age. My dad was in the motor trade and ran and owned 2 successful garages doing repair, servicing, MOT etc On a weekend as a child I would sometimes go down to the garage there to play around in the yard and I used to love sitting and playing in his toy – a MK2 escort RS2000 custom in diamond white. I’m sure we have some photos knocking around of me in the car when I was 2 years old!

Over the years the RS2000 changed considerably and after a long time in storage my dad started to do some track days at knockhill and a local hill climb called Forrestburn. Just all fun stuff nothing competitive.

The car was flat fronted for track use to not damage the nose cone or wings if it ever had any bumps on track and had been liveried up with various stickers each year.

My first ever track day at 18 years old was in the old MK2 and was awesome getting on there with all the modern metal and still being to keep it in the mix on the corners (not so much the straights haha)

The car has had a Harris pinto running just over 200bhp! Which was crazy revving to over 8000rpm and absolutely wringing it’s neck to get the most out of it. A world away from my ST3 I had at the time.

The car holds a lot of sentimental value as my dad always said as soon as I could afford to run and look after the car it was mine. So in 2017 I took ownership of the RS2000 although my plans with the car aren’t maybe for the RS purists among us…. I’ll get back to that later if anyone’s interested.

I think this is why I was so drawn back to the ford and RS brand. I have more passion for fords than other brands. It’s a feeling you get I believe.

[NEILRS2K]

Coastliner,

I was just bored and had kind of lost a bit of love for the big Audi and fancied a change.

The RS4 was a bit of a weapon and a great all rounder but doing the kind of driving I do, ie real world driving it wasn’t any quicker than a focus RS or even the old ST3.

It was a thirsty big beast as all performance cars are and it had to be really revved to get it shifting. Above 5k revs was noticeable and it really got moving. Plus there is always the threat of some big bills with cars like that.

One thing I have noticed going back to the focus RS is the handling is unbelievable. The RS4 was good but nowhere near the sharpness of the focus. At the end of the end of the day the RS4 is a large estate at nearly 150kg heavier than a focus RS. I am also enjoying lots more torque lower in the rev range… and the bright colour haha

Cheers

 

[NEILRS2K]

I haven’t done too much to the focus RS as yet and plan on keeping it fairly standard.

It’s a 66 plate on 12k miles with all of the key options I was after. Shell seats, forged wheels, lux pack, sync 3 and it also had a mountune induction kit fitted prior to purchase. It was detailed to a very standard by Jon Kirkham specialist car dealers down in Birmingham who I purchased it from so it has made it very easy to keep on top of cleaning wise coupled with hardly using it haha

 

[NEILRS2K]

Getting a good clean

[coastliner]

@ NeilRS2K

I take your point and I am the owner of an RS, and owned a MK2 RS Focus for 5.5 years. But the RS4 must be double the RS price ticket new and although I have never owned or driven one they have to be in another league regarding build and quality. We have a John cooper works s and its much better build quality than the RS. I take your point the RS is special but lacks quality when compared to the RS4.

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Coastliner

[NEILRS2K]

@Coastlimer,

No worries mate,

You are 100% correct around build quality though. The Audi was streets ahead. Screwed together together better, carbon fibre everywhere and the seats were something else.

It was starting to feel dated though with regards to cabin and MMI etc. It was a £57k car brand new in 2007 that had depreciated nearly £37k by the time I bought it in 2014. Prices had bottomed out by then and I never really lost much money after 5 and half years. Will cars like that ever go back up in value. Maybe, who knows. For me it is a tick in the box and I’m happy I done it but imho I feel big high revving V8’s are losing their appeal.

[NEILRS2K]

[NEILRS2K]

Fitted my shortened pressed metal plates. They were bought for my last car however on removing the old plates I found that someone had drilled multiple holes including a couple extra ones on the rear tailgate!

 

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