Mountune gives the Ford Focus RS 400bhp

Remember the Ford Focus RS? Of course you do. We gave it our coveted Car of The Year award in 2015 for being generally excellent. And while the hot hatch game has moved on somewhat since then, it’s still and will always be an almighty thing.

From the factory the MK3 RS had a 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine with 345bhp and 347lb ft. It was not slow, managing 165mph and 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds. Nonetheless, it wasn’t long before Mountune upped that to 370bhp and 376lb ft with the warranty-friendly, £899 ‘FPM375’ package.

But now it’s gone one step further, with the new M400R and M400X packages. These kits give 400bhp and 413lb ft, plus a load of other features. Said features include “an adjustable RPM limit, full-time launch control, adjustable launch set-point, full-throttle gear change, tailored valet and anti-theft modes, dyno mode, and full access to all OBD channels for custom gauges and data-logging”.

You can also adjust the map on the fly – there are OEM, valet and even fuel-economy-friendly options to choose from, if for some reason you don’t want the full 400bhp all the time. No word on performance figures, but we’re betting on fast. Very fast.

While these kits retain the car’s standard turbo, they do require a few other modifications be made first. On its website, Mountune says “this calibration should not be used on vehicles that have not been upgraded with forged pistons, steel conrods and that are using a colder spark plug” because of the increased cylinder pressures involved.

The calibrations themselves cost £595, though if you already own the old M400 upgrade you can go to M400R free-of-charge. M400X has all the features of M400R, but a slightly different map that “substantially increases the area under both power and torque curves” for “dramatically transformed” pick-up, response and mid-range performance.