Ford Focus RS500 set for Australia

Hold onto your drift mode buttons. An even faster version of the Ford Focus RS could be about to hit Australia.

Rumoured to be called the RS500, the beefed-up RS has been spied testing at the Nurburgring, with sources letting slip plans are underway for it to arrive Down Under.

The car hasn’t even been officially confirmed by Ford internationally, but a source close to Ford has let slip to Wheels that the RS500 is poised for an Aussie invasion.

The Focus RS is the hottest hatch currently produced by Ford, and stirred up controversy upon its local release due to its ‘Drift Mode’ function.

If that had the fun police riled up, imagine what a beefed-up, racier version of the car will do?!

Rumours suggest the big advancements in the RS500 will come from weight loss and aerodynamics, rather than power gain, with the standard RS’s 2.3-litre turbo four-cylinder’s 257kW already close to the maximum the diffs can handle.

It is predicted polycarbonate windows, carbonfibre bodywork and a stripped-out cabin that could shave up to 100kg from the fast five-door’s kerb weight,

Test mules have been spied with an adjustable rear-wing to control downforce.

A limited slip front diff and dual-clutch gearbox are also potential additions for the RS500.

All of these factors combined should result in a significant drop in 0-100km/h sprint times.

The waiting list for the current Focus RS already stretches well into 2017, with the first Aussie owners taking delivery last month.

A Ford Focus RS500 coming Down Under is massive news for Australian enthusiasts, who missed out on the old 2010 version as it was produced in limited numbers.

With Ford Australia wrapping up local manufacturing in October, the news hints at what the high-performance future of the Blue Oval could look like locally. Bring it on.