Ford says the RS was designed to handle half an hour of continuous punishment, be that in Drift mode or Track. That sounds reassuring, but when we went out for our first few laps on the track, my car gave me an engine warning message before limiting the revs, while Bill Caswell retired his with an AWD issue. Tyrone Johnson said the diffs can’t overheat, another Ford guy at the pits told us the complete opposite. It seemed fair to believe him instead.
Our second cars worked perfectly fine, but Ford admits that the RS’s Twinster system is pretty close to its limits handling 350 horses and 350 foot pounds already, so in case you’re planning to go aftermarket and increase the power further without beefing up the drivetrain, expect to get some shredded metal with your voided warranty.
