Contemporary look for Ford's radical new Focus.

Ford Rallye Sport has unveiled its most technically advanced and revolutionary rally car ever with the launch of the Ford Focus RS WRC 03 at the team's Dovenby Hall base in Cumbria.

Innovative in its radical styling, the evolution version of the successful Focus RS, winner of eleven world rallies since its debut in 1999, will make its competition debut on the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship - the Rally New Zealand - next month.

The new Focus RS is radically different in both looks and mechanics to the car which competed on the opening three rounds of the 2003 championship. Technical director Christian Loriaux and his engineering team at M-Sport, the company which operates Ford's world rally programme, have added significant performance improvements to the most dependable and reliable car in the championship, while a stunning new aerodynamic package gives the Focus RS an eye-catching contemporary look.

Highlights of the new Focus RS include radical changes to styling and aerodynamic package to increase performance on faster rallies; a new rear suspension system; improved weight distribution; weight savings throughout; a new body shell and a roll cage in excess of the minimum FIA safety requirement; a new lightweight engine developed and built by Cosworth Racing with improved response and more top end power; a revised wiring loom and electronic control system; more efficient engine and transmission cooling; enhanced Digital Messaging System to relay data to the co-driver's dashboard display and a revised hydraulic control system.

The car is Loriaux's first design since joining the team at the start of 2002. Starting with a clean sheet of paper, initial design work began in mid-May 2002 and just seven months elapsed between then and the car's first brief test run six days before Christmas. Since then, the car has undergone a comprehensive testing programme, most of it on gravel, in advance of its New Zealand debut.

Engineers at M-Sport and Ford's newly-announced Team RS technical department in Cologne, worked closely on the project. Mainstream engineers at Ford undertook detailed analysis on Loriaux's roll cage design and the new rear suspension, while the climatic wind tunnel in Cologne was used for advanced testing in the development of the cooling system and aerodynamics. The dynamometer there was also used by Ford and Cosworth Racing for dyno work on the new engine.