LESS IS MOREGO - BBR GTi.

gti focus rs
LESS IS MOREGO
BBR GTi may be a relative latecomer to the Focus RS scene,
but the RS380 shows that it’s been well worth the wait.
Words: Luke Photos: Gazza

PF TESTED
0-10mph 0.9 secs
0-20mph 1.8 secs
0-30mph 3.0 secs
0-40mph 3.8 secs
0-50mph 4.6 secs
0-60mph 5.7 secs
0-70mph 7.4 secs
0-80mph 8.7 secs
0-90mph 10.6 secs
0-100mph 12.3 secs
vMax 159.5mph
The race to build the fastest, most powerful Mk2 Focus RS has been on
since the first models landed in the UK at the beginning of last year. And if
the current rate of progress is anything to go by, it’s a race that looks set
to run for a considerable amount of time yet. So far, we’ve seen power
figures rise well into 400bhp territory and when you consider the potential
of the 2.5-litre turbocharged RS, it’s only going to be a matter of time before this kind
of output is eclipsed. When you look at what’s been done with 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre
capacity turbocharged engines, some of which have been tuned to produce well over
double that figure, logic dictates we’ll see the same, if not more, from the big, beefy
five-pot that comes as standard with the current RS flagship.
The only problem with chasing big horsepower though, is that the overall
driveability of the car tends to get lost in the quest for pub bragging rights. Now,
we’re not saying that everyone should stop building and engineering engines, in fact,
far from it. However, if you’re intent on driving your car everyday, and are perhaps
partial to the odd track day every now and again, there comes a point when you want
more of a balance between speed and usability.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that most tuners are offering a range of
upgrades for the current Focus RS, from a simple ECU tweak and working up to bigger
and better things depending on individual budgets and requirements. Take BBR GTi for
instance – a relative newcomer to the Mk2 Focus RS party, but a company that has
been involved with making Fords go faster since the RS500 Touring Cars of the 1980s.

046

BBR GTi, or Brodie Britain Racing and GTi Engineering are names that are steeped in
motorsport history and, as such, the company boasts a very impressive CV indeed.
Along with its former touring car credentials (David Brodie held the lap record at
Thruxton for many years in a Sierra RS500), BBR GTi has a wealth of experience tuning
and building cars, and not just Fords either. Everything from MINIs and numerous Golf
GTIs have passed through its doors, not to mention 1000bhp Astons, a 365bhp Lotus
Elise built for non other than Adrian Newey, plus a factory- approved turbo kit for
Mazda MX5s to name just a few.
Of course, with such a strong background in racing the iconic RS500, BBR has
always had a special interest with Fords, and especially the Mk2 Focus.
The company began developing the ST in 2005 and, not long after, it produced a
range of upgrade packages, starting with a 280 and 290 kit that consisted of an
exhaust, filter swap, custom remap and its most extreme 360 package that
incorporated a bigger turbo and fabricated manifold. A great RS-beater for sure, but
by BBR’s own admission it is a rather expensive conversion! To fill the gap in ST
conversions by modifying the standard turbo, BBR then offered a 330 kit as a more
cost-effective upgrade for 300bhp plus.
When the new RS started to appear, and with many ST owners wishing to trade up
to the greater performance it offered as standard, BBR once again turned its attention
to a range of power upgrades. After 18 months of extensive R&D, it now offers four
different tuning options; from the Phase One ECU remap that boosts power to 342bhp
and 369lb ft of torqe, to the Phase Four BBR RS400 which produces 404bhp and 408lb
ft of torque thanks to a hybrid turbo, high flow fuel pump, high flow injectors,
intercooler, air filter, full exhaust and remap.
While the RS400 conversion is aimed at customers that want supercar-beating
performance from their Focus, BBR is convinced that its Phase Three upgrade, which is
without the expensive turbo replacement but still offers a healthy 382bhp and 388lb ft
of torque, is more than enough for those who like to use their car on a regular basis.
So, in the interests of science, we asked if we could borrow BBR’s RS380
demonstrator to see just how well it performed against the clock and to see if it
measured up to BBR’s claims that it works well on everyday roads as well.
First up though, were the performance tests, and with a foggy, but otherwise
deserted Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground at our disposal, we fired up our trusty
Racelogic timing gear and set about chasing some 0-60mph times. Actually, we were
more interested in the 0-100mph and top speed times because if there’s one thing
we’ve learnt about the Mk2 Focus RS so far, it’s that there’s a limit to how quickly you
can get it off the line on standard road tyres – even with the Quaife ATB diff doing its
best to keep the front wheels in order.
The first few runs proved promising, with consistent 5.6-5.7-second sprints to
60mph and a low 12secs to 100mph, being the order of the day. We tried several
methods of getting BBR’s RS off the line, including a second gear start (which
amazingly only proved to be a few tenths slower!) then eventually resigned ourselves
to the fact that the tyres were only going to give us so much. If we had a set of
sticky track rubber we would have no doubt taken a big chunk out of the sprint times,
but then at least these figures are a good representation of what the RS380 is
capable of in the real world. And let’s face it, hitting the ton in just over 12 seconds
from a standing start in a heavy front wheel drive car is not to be sniffed at.
With the sprint times clarified, we moved our attention to the vMax tests, for
which we would have to use the full length of Bruntingthorpe’s near two-mile runway.
Our realistic aim here was to crack the 160mph barrier, and, after a couple of practice
runs that clocked 156 and 158 we wound back the door mirrors, took a couple of brave
pills and nailed the throttle for a final attempt – only to run out of runway with
159.9mph registered on the timing gear! With maybe another mile or so of asphalt to
047

gti focus rs
play with we’re pretty confident that we could have squeezed out at least another
three of four mph. Still, anything that can achieve these kind of speeds, while still
being fully decked out with leather, sat nav and reversing camera is good enough for
us. So, the BBR380 is clearly a quick car, and the BBR400 would no doubt be faster
still, but for BBR the extra power is only part of the story.
“In our opinion, one of the RS’ biggest failings is its ride quality,” explains BBR’s
Neil McKay. “Our bespoke damper and spring kit transforms the ride of the car, and is
more adapt at soaking up the potholes and uneven surfaces of UK A and B roads.”
If this sounds like BBR is being soft, then don’t be fooled into thinking that this is
just about comfort. A car with rock hard suspension might handle a bit better on the
smooth surfaces of a track, but over the lumps and bumps of your favourite back road
there’s a good chance it will skip and slide all over the place when you put your foot
down. BBR decided straight away that the standard dampers on the RS were too hard,
and after dyno testing them back-to-back with the ST suspension, claim that they
were producing maximum damping very early on under compression. In short, they
were too stiff. BBR’s solution was to develop its own springs matched to a set of
BBR/Koni-developed adjustable dampers – a combination that offers a gentle reduction
in ride height, and a much more effective overall suspension setup on the road.
According to Neil, “the suspension is somewhere between the ST and RS in terms of
stiffness,” so it’s still firm, but much more forgiving when the going gets rough.
The exact difference between this and the standard RS setup is hard to gauge
unless you were to drive both cars back-to-back, but after heading out on to the tight
and twisty lanes that surround Bruntingthorpe, we can confirm that the RS380 felt
100% planted on even the most undulating tarmac. Confidence-inspiring is probably
the best way to describe it; being able to absolutely nail it around corners and
roundabouts safe in the knowledge that the car is going to continue in the direction
that you’re pointing it, rather than fidgeting around and trying to make a break for
freedom. Given that the adjustable dampers allow you to stiffen things up if you
fancy heading out onto a track day, we reckon that the BBR setup really does offer a
best of both worlds solution for the RS.
If there’s one criticism though, it’s that there might be a danger that you’d soon get
used to the RS380’s performance. Don’t get us wrong, this is a fast bit of kit and one
that could be enjoyed everyday, whether crawling along in the morning commute or at
full chat on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The problem is that it’s all just too easy,
especially with BBR’s excellent suspension setup, so if you’re anything like us then
there’s a danger that you might find yourself hankering after even more power. Still, if
and when that happens, we guess you just need to save a few more pennies and go
back to BBR for the full fat RS400 ■
Contact
BBR GTi
www.morego.co.uk
048

BBR PHASE ONE
Custom remap with BBR Star Chip
342bhp @ 6150rpm, 369lb ft @ 3350rpm
Price: £595
BBR RS355 PHASE TWO
BBR intercooler, silicon hose kit, high flow air filter, Star Chip remap
355bhp @ 6580rpm, 378lb ft @ 3000-4600rpm
Price: £1245
BBR RS380 PHASE THREE
BBR intercooler, silicon hose kit, high flow air filter, BBR spec 3”
exhaust with sports cat, larger injectors, Star Chip remap
382bhp @ 6080rpm, 388lb ft @ 3000-4650rpm
Price: £2495
BBR RS400 PHASE FOUR
BBR intercooler, silicon hose kit, high flow air filter, BBR spec 3”
exhaust with sports cat, larger injectors, high flow fuel pump, hybrid
turbo, Star Chip remap
404bhp @ 6220rpm, 408lb ft @ 3380rpm
Price: £3895
BBR Koni adjustable dampers £795
BBR lowering springs £195
(prices exclude fitting)
049