The News Wheel
No Comments

Ford Edge RS? Sure, Maybe, Says Ford Performance’s Ed Krenz

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page
Ford Edge RS

Could a Ford Edge RS be on the horizon?

Plenty of folks were more than a bit gob-smacked when Ford unveiled the all-new Edge ST earlier this year. For as much of a surprise as the high-performance crossover was, that awe was quickly replaced, as it so often is, by speculation as to what Ford Performance could do next. Naturally, one of those questions was whether or not this could lead to a Ford Edge RS, of all things.

MotorTrend’s Collin Woodward caught up with Ford Performance Chief Functional Engineer Ed Krenz in October as asked him that very question. Interestingly enough, Krenz had something quite a bit more concrete to say than the typical “no comment”-style response:

“Now that would clearly be a bit of a white space vehicle, so it’s not something we’d go and say, ‘Let’s go copy X, Y, or Z.’ We’d be able to create kind of that segment of non-premium, ultra-high-performance SUVs. What would we like it to be? The RS would have to bring more power. The RS would have to bring additional vehicle dynamics. That could be done through even more aggressive tires, more aggressive suspension setup, active dampers, torque vectoring. Those are things we definitely know how to do if we decide that we want to do it.”


Ford Performance’s Best: The Ford Mustang once again reigns as the world’s best-selling sports car


If we decide that we want to do it

So, you’re saying there’s a chance?

While this is hardly a confirmation of intent, it seems like this idea is something that is at least already on Ford Performance’s radar. Woodward speculates that a Ford Edge RS would feature the F-150’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, which puts out a neat 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, and would feature some variation of the Focus RS’s Active Torque Vectoring. It would also make sense to have the Edge RS get the Edge ST’s innovative AI-assisted AWD disconnect technology.

Krenz also acknowledges the enthusiasm among performance hounds for manual transmissions and says that “we’re gonna learn a little bit, whether or not this segment really requires that.” So, hey, there’s something else.

Ford no doubt has bigger fish to fry than focusing on creating more niche products for enthusiasts, but it seems like the idea of a Ford Edge RS is at least germinating in some folks’ brain boxes. The Edge ST was a nice little out-of-left-field surprise, so who knows — maybe the Edge RS will bow out of the blue one day and leave folks equally gob-smacked.


Ford’s Setting SUV Records: The new Ford Edge is poised to help the Blue Oval maintain its momentum


News Source: MotorTrend

Next-Article-Button