Model tested: Ford Focus RS500
Price: £35,750
Date tested: May 2010
Road tester: Adam Towler

Few cars look more aggressive than a Ford Focus RS. While some car makers tone down their sporting hatchbacks, Team RS believes the bigger the wing the better. Ford has now pushed things even further with the RS500.

To boost its aggressive stance, each RS500 is painted in metallic black then covered in a special matte black film. The result, with black wheels, is a stealth fighter look.

Under the bonnet there's a wider air intake pipe, an enlarged exhaust downpipe, a new higher-pressure fuel pump, a larger intercooler and an ECU remap. This lifts the power output from 300bhp to 345bhp, and boosts torque from 325lb/ft to 339lb/ft.

Only 500 of these RSs will be made. The standard car has been a huge success, particularly in the UK, where nearly 4,000 have been sold in less than a year.

Ford claims the modifications cut the 0-62mph time down from 5.9 seconds to 5.6. Although this in itself is impressive, it doesn't really do much to describe the true performance of the RS500.

Any powerful front-wheel drive car will struggle to get off the line, and the RS500 is no different. Instead, it's how the car goes once you're up and running that counts, and by this measure the RS500 is absolutely stunning.

The engine note is slightly louder than before, and the onset of a pronounced turbo whistling sound is your key to await the fireworks. In truth, the fuse burning time isn't very long, as the five-cylinder engine has such excellent flexibility and breadth of delivery.

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Once the engine is pulling you can choose to either work it exclusively in the mid-range, or rev each gear out to the red line and revel in the increased top-end power. Either way, the pace of the RS500 is astonishing.

Beyond that, the changes to the RS500 are minimal. The brake callipers are now red, and the seats have red stitching. There's also an 'RS500' logo on the rear and a numbered plaque on the dashboard.

That there are neither chassis modifications, nor changes to the wheels, brakes or tyres does not mean that the RS500 is a disappointment. The standard set up is so good it doesn't feel stretched by the increased power output, and the mild torque steer in certain situations is no different than the standard RS.

Just 101 RS500s will come to the UK, all already sold - so grumbling about the extra £7,555 the RS500 costs over the standard car seems rather pointless.

Yes, that's a lot of extra money for another 45bhp and a vinyl wrap, but Ford knows its market. So even if the RS500 might not have the excitement of the original (the Sierra RS500), that doesn't mean it isn't an extremely enjoyable and potent hot hatch.