<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/" rel="tag">Performance</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/euro/" rel="tag">Europe</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hatchbacks/" rel="tag">Hatchback</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><em><strong><small><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/"><img hspace="0" vspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/web01-focus-rs-wrc.jpg" /></a><br />
</small></strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><small>Ford Focus RS WRC special edition for Switzerland - Click above for image gallery of livery proposals</small></strong></em></div>
<br />
While the rest of us think "rallying", the Swiss look at their snow-capped mountains and think "skiing". That's largely because the Swiss are not known to be car people. But for every rule there's an exception. <br />
<br />
In Switzerland those exceptions include the efforts of notable speed-freaks like Peter <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/sauber">Sauber</a> (of F1 fame), Frank Rinderknecht (<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/rinspeed">Rinspeed</a>) and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/sbarro">Franco Sbarro</a> (the flamboyant coachbuilder - not the food-court pizza guy). And we can now add <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> to that list, as the Detroit automaker's Swiss subsidiary is rolling out a special edition <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/focus">Focus</a> RS to pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of the company's iconic RS division, exclusively for the Swiss market.<br />
<br />
Although mechanically identical to the existing <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/fordfocusrs">Focus RS</a> - not much change needed there - the Focus RS WRC edition wears a special livery submitted and chosen through an online forum. Black and green decals overlay a white background, complimented by blacked-out 19" OZ Superturismo GT alloys, while inside, a special plaque carries the Hancocks of Ford's top rally ace Mikko Hirvonen and his co-pilot Jarmo Lehtinen.<br />
<br />
Only 50 examples will be offered, exclusively in Switzerland at a price of 55,900 Swiss francs - equivalent to about $53k in American greenbacks and representing a 2000-franc premium over the standard Focus RS. We'll see if we can grab a closer look when we descend upon the multilingual alpine nation for the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/genevamotorshow">Geneva Motor Show</a> next month, but in the meantime you can view the top liveries proposed in the gallery below and, if your French, German or Italian is up to the task, check out the press release after the jump. After all, while "speed" is not among the languages commonly spoken in Switzerland, neither is English.<br />
<br />
And if some of you longtime readers think that a 50-unit Focus WRC special edition sounds familiar, well, it should. Back in 2007, The Euro Oval did a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/23/europe-rallies-to-the-cause-ford-focus-st-wrc-edition/">similar package based on the Focus ST</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/">Ford Focus RS WRC Swiss livery proposals</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/01-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/06-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/05-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/04-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/03-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
[Source: Ford]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Ford Suisse rolls out special edition Focus RS WRC</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/">Ford Suisse rolls out special edition Focus RS WRC</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19347920/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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</small></strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><small>Ford Focus RS WRC special edition for Switzerland - Click above for image gallery of livery proposals</small></strong></em></div>
<br />
While the rest of us think "rallying", the Swiss look at their snow-capped mountains and think "skiing". That's largely because the Swiss are not known to be car people. But for every rule there's an exception. <br />
<br />
In Switzerland those exceptions include the efforts of notable speed-freaks like Peter <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/sauber">Sauber</a> (of F1 fame), Frank Rinderknecht (<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/rinspeed">Rinspeed</a>) and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/sbarro">Franco Sbarro</a> (the flamboyant coachbuilder - not the food-court pizza guy). And we can now add <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> to that list, as the Detroit automaker's Swiss subsidiary is rolling out a special edition <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/focus">Focus</a> RS to pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of the company's iconic RS division, exclusively for the Swiss market.<br />
<br />
Although mechanically identical to the existing <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/fordfocusrs">Focus RS</a> - not much change needed there - the Focus RS WRC edition wears a special livery submitted and chosen through an online forum. Black and green decals overlay a white background, complimented by blacked-out 19" OZ Superturismo GT alloys, while inside, a special plaque carries the Hancocks of Ford's top rally ace Mikko Hirvonen and his co-pilot Jarmo Lehtinen.<br />
<br />
Only 50 examples will be offered, exclusively in Switzerland at a price of 55,900 Swiss francs - equivalent to about $53k in American greenbacks and representing a 2000-franc premium over the standard Focus RS. We'll see if we can grab a closer look when we descend upon the multilingual alpine nation for the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/genevamotorshow">Geneva Motor Show</a> next month, but in the meantime you can view the top liveries proposed in the gallery below and, if your French, German or Italian is up to the task, check out the press release after the jump. After all, while "speed" is not among the languages commonly spoken in Switzerland, neither is English.<br />
<br />
And if some of you longtime readers think that a 50-unit Focus WRC special edition sounds familiar, well, it should. Back in 2007, The Euro Oval did a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/23/europe-rallies-to-the-cause-ford-focus-st-wrc-edition/">similar package based on the Focus ST</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/">Ford Focus RS WRC Swiss livery proposals</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/01-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/06-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/05-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/04-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/ford-focus-rs-wrc-swiss-livery-proposals/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/03-focus-rs-wrc_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
[Source: Ford]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Ford Suisse rolls out special edition Focus RS WRC</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/">Ford Suisse rolls out special edition Focus RS WRC</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19347920/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/07/ford-suisse-rolls-out-special-edition-focus-rs-wrc/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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