Focus RS nearly rolls after smashing into cliff face
The Australian media tried to warn us ...
... I kid of course, the overreaction to Ford's launch of a ‘Drift Mode’ button in its oh-so-hot-right-now RS model on the part of the mainstream Aussie media was largely silly and unfounded.
Not to mention somewhat ironic, from a country that has long built two of the most driftable production cars in the world — the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon.
A huge percentage of cars these days come with all sorts of performance buttons and gizmos that if you think about it are completely at odds with ‘the legal driving experience.’ Hell, every second automatic new car sold today seems to have a 'Sport' mode proudly emblazoned somewhere on its broshure. The magic button in the Focus is in no ways alone.
But in some ways I sympathize with the Australian media's view. Taking the words ‘Drift Mode’ and slapping them on a button in a high-performance car like the Focus RS is like sticking a child in an empty room with a big red lollipop in the corner; curiosity and temptation are most likely to defeat any form of resistance.
So we arrive at the above video of someone from the New York ST Owners Club absolutely sausaging their RS into the side of a cliff.
The first viewing of the clip makes it look like the driver simply ran out of talent, lobbing the RS into a corner they clearly had no real knowledge of. Comments made by the video uploader only support the idea.
“See, I knew he was dumb enough to attempt it from previous experience, so I warned the lead car to back up. I'm glad I did. Spin it any way you want,” they say in the video caption.
Despite hitting the cliff so hard that the car nearly turtled itself, it actually looks to have fared quite well. Thankfully it also appears that the group have ridded themselves of the driver and their now slightly second hand Focus.
“[The NY ST Club] does not condone or approve of this reckless behavior on public roadways. The offending person was immediately booted from our club. We practice safety on the road during our cruises, and actions such as this will be dealt with with ZERO TOLERANCE.
“Take it to the track, if you want to drive like this.”
Wise words, guys. Wise words.