Having finished its motoring press cycle, the first production example of Ford's limited run Focus RS500 hot hatch is heading to the company's museum at Dagenham in east London, UK, joining other famous blue oval models such as the 1970 London to Mexico winning Escort, the RS200 and the 2005 GT supercar.
The RS500 is based on the standard Focus RS featuring a tweaked 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five with 350HP, a matte black 'foil' wrap and special interior trim.
Ford built 500 retail units of the RS500, plus 12 cars for demonstration and press purposes. This here example is also the first right-hand drive press unit in the UK, number PR001. Only 101 right-hand Focus RS500 were available in the UK, and all were spoken for within days of launch.
Ford corporate affairs manager, Brian Bennett, said: "The heritage collection is the largest collection of roadworthy historic Ford vehicles in the UK and includes some of the industry's most famous vehicles such as the Ford Model T and the Ford Cortina. Performance models feature strongly and the Ford Focus RS500 was an obvious choice to include as a future classic."
Photo Gallery: Ford Focus RS500 (*Not the museum car)
