It would be hard to argue that the popularity of the Focus hasn’t eclipsed the Fiesta. As Ford’s favorite child it receives the most attention and investment - there hasn’t been an RS model that’s not a Focus for over 20 years now. Ongoing speculation of a Fiesta RS has so far proved nothing more than wishful thinking.

As expected there was a large number of Mk3 RSs in attendance, and unsuprisingly most were standard. The market for tuning these is going to be huge, and will really snowball once warranties expire and secondhand prices come down. That’s not to say there wasn’t a decent selection of modified examples too, mostly from tuning outfits keen to display their latest innovations.

As is always the case with modifying, there’s some questionable taste when it comes to styling. The Metro 6R4 style front spoiler on the blue and white tiger striped Mk2 ST doesn’t really work and the less said about the green Mk2 RS with Hulk graphics the better! The Michelin Pilot liveried Mk2 RS came so close to hitting the mark - from a distance it looked impressive with the graphics, WRC wing and roof scoop, but closer inspection revealed some very odd choices - the 3D text numberplates and strange rear shelf diffuser with little struts don’t fit the theme at all.

Function is consistently the greatest source of style and this gallery is bookended with two perfect examples of this - stripped out, full cages and bucket seats scream business. The base cars may be the same as the more flamboyant examples, and even if the power outputs are comparable, the purposeful appearance of the race look suggests a singular, undistracted purpose.