Mountune may not have the most famous name in the aftermarket tuning circle, but don’t let its relative anonymity distract you from what the tuner is fully capable of. We already saw what happens when it gets its hands on the Ford Focus RS. It did so last year with Ford Performance and managed to squeeze out 375 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. Now it’s back with a bigger and better upgrade for the hot hatch as calls for a 400-horsepower Ford Focus RS have finally been answered.

The scope of Mountune’s new modifications for the Focus RS covers a lot of ground as far as mechanical upgrades are concerned. There’s very little in the way of aesthetic enhancements, so customers are advised to find them elsewhere, be it from Ford or another aftermarket company. Nevertheless, the program’s lack of versatility shouldn’t be held against it, not with the promise of incredible power and performance. Take this kit from Mountune however you want to, but rest assured, this is as "no-nonsense" as any tuning program we’ve come across for the Ford Focus RS. It was developed for one purpose – power for ages – and the resulting numbers certainly speak for themselves.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Exterior

On the exterior front, you won’t get anything from Mountune as the tuner’s sole focus rests on improving the hot hatch’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The absence of any upgrades on this section means that customers who are looking to satisfy their aftermarket fixes on the exterior of the Focus RS will have to look elsewhere to get it. Fortunately, there are other tuners who offer such services, including a handful that showed their wares at the 2016 SEMA Auto Show.

Plenty of Ford tuners to look into

Full Race Motorsports offers an extensive aerodynamic body kit that includes bits like a front race splitter and side splitters that help enhance the hot hatch’s downforce. A rear diffuser is also included in the offering, as is a cosmetic livery design that was showcased in Stealth Gray body finish with a black roof and a Fire Orange strips running throughout the body of the Focus RS. A “Full Race” decal on the lower edge of the windshield completes the exterior upgrades that Full Race Motorsports is offering. I’m guessing, too, that the color options can vary depending on the customer’s wishes. The tuner commissions it from BASF, which is known in tuning circles as one of the best in the business when it comes to automotive body wraps.

If Full Race Motorsports’ offering isn’t to your liking, noted Ford tuner Roush Performance has an alternative that you might like. There are similar aero bits added to the hot hatch, including a front splitter, hood, front grille, and side intakes. Roush also added a new Stealth protection film to the Focus RS, an item it sourced from XPel. Then there are the wheel options, which the tuner has available in the form of a set of 19-inch Trakpak versions wrapped in Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires.

The last and arguably most outlandish option will detail here comes by way of clothing company Blood & Grease, which worked on this custom Focus RS with collaborator Vaccar Automotive Industry. It’s going to a little difficult to get a hold of this kit but if you’re really determined to give your Focus RS this kind of makeover, you should know that there’s a lot going on in the exterior of the hot hatch. First is the matte paint finish, which was supplied once again by BASF. The sprayed body panels come courtesy of Canfield Collision & Custom while the wheels come in as 19-inch five-spoke options from Kronig. The overall look of the Focus RS may not carry as many aerodynamic upgrades compared to the previous two tuners, but as far as looking the part of a hot rod racer, this kit has you covered.

Interior

Note: standard Ford Focus RS interior pictured here.

It’s the same story in the interior of the Ford Focus RS. The absence of any upgrades in this section once again leaves Mountune vulnerable to rival tuners, especially those who offer all-encompassing programs for the hot hatch.

The aforementioned Full Race Motorsports, for example, counts itself as one of these tuners, especially if a customer wants to give the hot hatch a full-on race car look and feel to it. Full Race Motorsports’ setup answers a lot of those needs, thanks in part to its offer of fitting the cabin with a Watson Racing four-point, bolt-in roll bar and a Schroth three-inch, quick-fit, five-point racing harnesses for both front seats. A water-methanol injection system was also put in place and is completed by an AEM methanol gauge.

If you fancy something akin to a more premium interior, there are plenty of offers on the table too. For its part, Blood & Grease tapped into its specialization as a purveyor of high-fashion clothing by dressing up the Focus RS in ways only it can pull off. The majority of the interior surface is covered in custom leather from Katzkin, which is one of the best providers of bespoke upholstery in the tuning scene. The one chosen by Blood & Grease for its Focus RS tuning project is “Cardinal” leather, which is then matched with “Raven” suede, creating a similar black-on-red treatment that was displayed on the exterior of the hot hatch.

Drivetrain

We finally get to a section that Mountune has something to offer. If you waited this long to find out what tuner has for the Focus RS, all that waiting is about to pay off. Here’s the good news. The kit itself is pretty straightforward in the sense that it’s only made up of an upgraded ECU unit, a custom air filter, and a new air re-circulation valve. These new items are actually similar to the first upgrade that Mountune offered late last year. We remember that because the tuner was able to extract 375 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque out of the Focus RS’ 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.

This updated version though comes with a generous amount of tweaks, which results in an impressive output of 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. Do the math and that’s 25 horses and 37 pound-feet of torque more than the previous upgrade. Take that further and you’re looking at power improvements amounting to 50 ponies and 63 pound-feet of torque over the standard output of the Focus RS. It may not seem like much compared to what other tuners can do to other performance cars, but in the world of hot hatches, this kind of power spike can make a world of difference.

Take the hot hatch’s performance times with Moutune’s M400 power upgrades in tow. With 400 horsepower on tap, the Focus RS should now capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in around 4.3 seconds, 0.4 seconds quicker than the standard Focus RS. More to that, the hot hatch’s top speed should also rise to around 180 mph. Check out the table below to see how the evolved output of the Ford Focus RS compares to the standard model.

Other tuners have equally impressive offerings

Let’s start this off with a band and look at another noted Ford tuner that has an equally impressive engine upgrade program for the Ford Focus RS. We all know Hennessey and what it’s capable of. Heck, we’ve already seen its skills and talents in the automotive world with a car like the Venom GT. Likewise, its skills in the tuning game is without peer and we see all of it in full bloom with the tuner’s engine upgrade program for the Focus RS.

At the heart of its program is an update to the hatchback’s engine control unit, similar to what Moutune did with its own program for the high-performance Focus variant. For its part, Hennessey also added updates to the intercooler, air induction, exhaust, and the pair of turbochargers that help exert more grunt out of the engine. The result is an output of 400 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque, enough to propel the hot hatch from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.3 seconds on its way to posting a top speed of 180 mph.

Suppose you want an engine upgrade program that’s a little bit more exotic, Full Race Motorsports has something on the table that can literally make your knees weak. The program it presented at SEMA also came with a tuning kit that’s comprised of an actual twin-scroll turbocharger kit that Full Race Motorsports developed in-house. A front-mount intercooler and aluminum charge pipes were also featured in that program, as well as a three-inch cold-air intake system, a crankcase catch can, an AEM, boost-dependent, water-methanol injection system is also in place, and last but certainly not least, a Borg Warner EFR 76/70 internal wastegate turbocharger.

By sheer volume of new components, Full Race Motorsports has one of the most impressive programs you can find for the Focus RS. It’s only fitting, then, that with this many additions to the turbocharged four-banger engine, Full Race Motorsports was able to produce a staggering output of 450 horsepower, significantly more than what either Mouton and Hennessey have to offer.

Check out the table below to see how Moutune’s M400 engine upgrade program stacks up against its rival tuners.

Pricing

Moutune’s M400 program costs just £3,000, which converts to just under $4,000 based on current exchange rates. Unfortunately, the program appears to only be available in the U.K., so if you’re here in the U.S., the best bet on getting an engine upgrade program for the Focus RS would be to look at other options.

Competition

Ford Focus RS by Roush Performance

Roush Performance is regarded as one of the most in-tune aftermarket specialists when it comes to Ford models. It’s no surprise then that it has engine upgrade programs that go up to as much as 500 horsepower, well above even what Full Race Motorsports was able to get out of its own program. On top of being at the forefront of engine tuning, the tuner is also known for developing extensive and effective aero kits to go with the power increases. We’ve seen some examples in the past of Roush’s work on the Focus RS and for what it has accomplished, it has earned its place as one of the go-to Ford tuners in the business.

Read our full review on the Ford Focus RS by Roush Performance.

Conclusion

It really is hard to go wrong with the Ford Focus RS, isn’t it? The hot hatch’s credentials already speak for themselves even without any assistance from any tuner in the game. It’s been received tremendously well and there’s a chance that this current iteration of the Focus RS will go down as one of the best performance hatchbacks in history. But like everything that’s already good on the surface, the chance to be better is always knocking at the door.

Moutune’s engine upgrade program for the Focus RS may not have separated itself from what other tuners are offering, but the tuner has an impressive track record when it comes to working on Ford vehicles. The Focus RS isn’t an exception to that so anybody who does end up getting this kit will not regret getting it.

References

Read our full review on the Ford Focus RS.