Listen to the Focus RS EcoBoost Roar as Ken Block Hoons It Up (Video)

Yesterday morning, Ford Motor Company introduced the first Focus RS that will be sold in the USA and today, we have a video that lets us hear the high performance EcoBoost engine that is borrowed from the Mustang as the ultimate hoonigan – Mr. Ken Block – puts the Focus RS through the paces in and around the German production facility.

The new Ford Focus RS that debuted yesterday in Germany will be the first “RS” product to be marketed in the United States. This car will pack over 315 horsepower, a super advanced all-wheel drive system and a suspension setup that should make it one of the best handling sport compacts in the world. This is a car will a whole lot of rally heritage in its past, so it makes perfect sense that Ford turned to rally racer Ken Block to create the first action-packed video of the new high performance hatchback.

Of course, Ken Block is best known for his high speed, adrenaline-fueled driving videos which show him sliding and spinning his way through seemingly impossible situations. He has coined the phrase “hooning”, which refers to pretty much any style of high performance, high thrill driving, and from hooning, we have gotten the great terms like “hoonigan”, which is obviously one who hoons. These videos and Block’s hoonage have spawned the sport of automotive gymkhana and in this first video, Block drives a stock pre-production Focus RS gymkhana-style through the German production facility where the new RS will be built.

Block Hoons the Focus RS
Watching Ken Block do his thing is always a good time, but this video is a big deal because it gives us our first chance to really see the new Ford Focus RS pushed to the limit. The video starts off in some portion of the Cologne, Germany Manufacturing plant where we see Block hit the button to open some large loading dock doors. He walks up to the new Focus RS, still clad in the test car camouflage, gets in and fires up the hot hatch. This gives us our first chance to hear the 2.3L EcoBoost engine roar through the RS-specific dual exhaust system and – not surprisingly, - it sounds pretty freakin’ sweet.

At this point, the camera pans out and we see that the loading dock doors aren’t opening, they are closing, which forces Ken Block to blast through them, nearly clipping the outside mirrors as the Focus RS quickly picks up speed. The next two minutes are filled with Block’s high speed antics and the video ends with Block rushing into the area where the German media debut was held – giving everyone there a chance to hear the Focus RS roar while Block tossed the back end around a couple more times.

Ken Block’s videos are always a hit so using his skills to showcase the capabilities of the new Focus RS was a brilliant decision by the Motor Company. Sound is a big part of this clip, so crank up your speakers and enjoy!