Ford News: Ford Performance Considers RS Versions of their Crossovers

[William Maley]

It is unlikely that the Focus RS will be the only Ford model sporting the RS badge, although which models will follow have been up for debate. The chief of Ford Performance has hinted that the brand's crossovers could go under the RS treatment.

"I think customers love performance. I think the definition of what that means for an SUV might be different than what it means for a Focus or for a Fiesta. But I think that we’ve seen, even in the US and globally, that people like aggressive-looking cars, they like sporty, they want the power and pick-up and engine improvement, so I think the answer is yes. SUV customers would appreciate performance, for sure," said Dave Pericak, head of Ford Performance to Car Dealer Magazine.

Pericak goes on to say that he believes there are "no real credible (performance SUVs)." (Though we are sure the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche would like to have a conversation with him about this -WM).

"If you look at the SUV market right now, there aren’t too many credible performance SUVs out there. here are people who have made partial attempts at it and there are different things that have happened, but there are no real credible ones. So, I think that’s an area of some opportunity, for sure."

Car Dealer Magazine speculates that the Kuga (Escape to us) could be the most likely candidate, followed by the EcoSport and Edge.

Source: Car Dealer Magazine

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