Ford Focus RS news - Front of the pack - 2009

How much power can a hot hatch's front wheels handle?

We've spent much of 2009 being astonished by how well the Focus RS copes with 300bhp piling through its front tyres (find out what Jeremy thinks of the fast Ford) but German tuning firm Loder1899 - no idea, sorry - reckons this is a pitiful amount of horsepowering.

So the Loder boys have tuned Ford's double-hot hatch to a meaty 345bhp, courtesy of a fatter, louder exhaust and bigger air filter. They've dropped the RS over an inch on its springs and fitted a shiny new set of 20-inch alloys for good measure.

No word on performance yet, but if - and it's a very big if - the RS can somehow stick all that power to the tarmac, we reckon it'll be cracking the 0-60mph run in something close to five seconds flat. Which is frankly a bit silly, especially if you happen to encounter, say, a corner at some point.

So what do you reckon? Have we reached the limits of front-drive power? Or will we, in a couple of years' time, be merrily toasting the 500bhp Leon Cupra RRRR?

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