The Ford Focus was a compact car built by Ford from 1998 until 2025. It was created under the Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to develop and sell one compact car worldwide, and the original was designed mainly by Ford of Europe’s German and British teams.
Ford Focus at a glance
| Maker | Ford of Europe, then Ford worldwide |
|---|---|
| Production | 1998–2025 |
| Programme | Ford 2000, one compact car for the world |
| First generation | C170, 1998 |
| Launch bodies | three-door hatchback, four-door sedan, five-door wagon |
| European Car of the Year | 1999, for the Mk 1 |
| Focus RS (2002) | 2.0-litre turbo Duratec, 4,501 cars built |
| RS plant | Saarlouis, Germany |
| Second generation | launched at the Paris Motor Show, September 2004 |
| Fourth generation | production from 2018 in Germany and China |
| End of production | announced in 2022, confirmed in 2025 |
This page is based on English Wikipedia only.
History of the Ford Focus
A name chosen at the last minute
Ford’s senior management planned to keep the Escort name for its new small family car, and the decision to call it Focus was taken only in early 1998. That July a Cologne court, acting on a case brought by the publisher Burda, ordered Ford to avoid the name Focus in Germany because a magazine already used it; the dispute was resolved and the car was launched as the Focus. Ford of Europe introduced it in 1998 as the Escort’s replacement, with Rose Mary Farenden as project manager at Dunton, and the Mk 1 was voted European Car of the Year in 1999. North American sales began in September 1999 for the 2000 model year with some changes from the European car, in three-door hatchback, four-door sedan and five-door wagon form, joined by a five-door hatchback in 2001.
The first Focus RS
In 2002 Ford launched its most powerful Focus, the RS, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged Duratec RS engine, a Quaife ATB limited-slip differential, an AP Racing clutch, Sachs Racing dampers, Brembo brakes, 18-inch O.Z Racing wheels and a front suspension design Ford called Revo-knuckle. Tickford Engineering won the contract to develop and oversee production and changed up to 70 per cent of the base components. The car was built at Saarlouis in Germany between 2002 and 2003 in a run of only 4,501, sold only in Europe, with just under half of them, 2,147, going to Britain, and it came only in Imperial blue.
Later generations
The second generation was launched at the Paris Motor Show on 25 September 2004 as three- and five-door hatchbacks and an estate, after a four-door sedan concept was shown in Beijing earlier that year. Production of the fourth generation began in 2018 in Germany and China. Ford announced in 2022 that the Focus would not be replaced, and in 2025 confirmed that the model was no longer built.
Design and features
- World car: one compact design for Europe and North America under the Ford 2000 plan.
- Award winner: European Car of the Year in 1999.
- Focus RS (2002): a 4,501-car homologation special with Revo-knuckle front suspension.
- Four generations: from the 1998 C170 to the 2018 car.
Ford Focus versions
- Mk 1 (1998–2004): hatchback, sedan and wagon, European Car of the Year.
- Focus RS (2002–2003): 2.0 turbo, 4,501 cars, Imperial blue only.
- Mk 2 (2004): launched at the Paris Motor Show.
- Mk 4 (from 2018): built in Germany and China.
- Focus WRC: the rally version of the model.
The Focus replaced the Escort and sits above the Fiesta in Ford’s European range. More Ford vehicles are in the Ford collection.
Sources
- Ford Focus, English Wikipedia: naming, first generation, RS, generations
