When the Ford Focus arrived at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1998, it was tasked with replacing a nameplate that had run for 34 years. After several million Escorts across six generations, Ford killed off its eponymous model in favour of the Focus, which was warmly received by press and public and voted European Car of the Year in its first full season. It also handed Ford a modern weapon for the World Rally Championship. What it lacked, initially, was a halo — and that gap is precisely what the 2003 Ford Focus RS listed here in Naples was built to fill.
Rallye Sport, reborn in one colour
The production RS broke cover at Geneva in 2001, and the significance ran deeper than a bodykit. Six years after impending legislation and dwindling demand killed off the Escort RS Cosworth and banished the Rallye Sport brand to fast-Ford history, Ford revived its performance division with the Focus RS Mk1. Offered as a front-wheel-drive three-door hatchback, it was screwed together on its own line at Saarlouis, with Ford claiming 70 percent of the components were new or re-engineered — bodyshell, suspension, brakes, wheels, engine, transmission, interior and exterior all substantially modified. The turbocharged 2.0-litre Duratec-RS spat out 215 hp and 310 Nm, fed through a five-speed MTX-75 gearbox with shorter ratios, a Quaife torque-biasing differential, Sachs dampers, Brembo brakes and quick-ratio steering. The result was polarising by design, famed for extraordinary front-end grip, hyperactive steering and a tendency to torque steer under hard acceleration — though some cars were reportedly much better than others.
Production was brief and finite. The Saarlouis line ran from October 2002 to November 2003, when the last of 4,501 units rolled off; like the Model T, the RS came in just one colour, Imperial Blue. Every car was individually numbered, its build plaque a permanent reminder that this was a low-volume, homologation-flavoured special rather than a warmed-over hatch. Its rivals were the all-wheel-drive Japanese heavyweights — it took on the popular Subaru Impreza WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with two driven wheels and a clever diff.
What this Naples car represents
The example for sale wears its correct Imperial Blue, shows 89,000 km, and is offered from private family ownership at €30,000, placing it firmly at the upper end of the current band for a good, useful car rather than a concours outlier. Well-kept cars with sensible mileage, comprehensive histories and minimal modification typically sit in the £22,000–£30,000 bracket, with the strongest money reserved for low-mileage, highly original examples. Two checks matter above all others. The first port of call is the sills: the steel hides behind plastic covers, so a car can look pristine yet be rotten underneath, and the rear arches, base of the front wings, mirror housings and the area under the tailgate handle are all common rust spots. Mechanically, check for coolant leaks around the thermostat housing and water pump, treat blue smoke on start-up as a sign of worn valve seals or a hard-driven engine, and lift the chargecooler cap to confirm it is spraying water. Bear in mind, too, that many RS-specific panels — particularly the unique front bumper and wider arches — are difficult and expensive to replace.
The case, with eyes open
Interest in this generation has firmed steadily, and the reasons are structural rather than speculative: a fixed run of 4,501, a single colour, a charismatic if flawed FWD chassis, and a badge Ford has since retired. Values have strengthened as the Mk1's significance as an early modern performance Ford becomes more widely recognised, its limited run underpinning demand for original, unmodified cars with strong histories. That last clause is the whole game — the surviving population is heavily populated by modified and tuned cars, so a standard, honest, well-documented example carries a premium precisely because so few survive untouched. At this asking price the Naples car deserves scrutiny rather than dismissal, but only scrutiny will tell you which camp it falls into: verify the build number against the known register for accident history, confirm the timing belt and service record, inspect those hidden sills in person, and put the whole thing in front of a fast-Ford specialist before any money changes hands.
