The Ford Focus RS has disappeared from the Blue Oval brand’s local website, marking the end of the all-wheel-drive hot hatch’s run in South Africa.

The news comes after Ford ended production of the RS-badged Focus in Germany back in April.

The automaker's local arm told CARmag.co.za its dealers had sold all available stock of the RS. Interestingly, though, the outgoing Focus ST is still listed on the brand’s local website.

Of course, the Focus nameplate has since moved on to a new generation in many markets, with the cooking models (one of which we’ve already sampled in France) expected to touch down in South Africa in the first quarter of 2019.

Ford is also in the process of developing new versions of both the ST and RS based on this latest generation Focus, although neither has yet been revealed. But with Ford Motor Company of SA in July 2018 confirming the new Fiesta ST is not destined for local shores, the local availability of these upcoming hot hatches has yet to be established.

The Focus RS last appeared on Ford SA's official price catalogue in October 2018, when it was listed at R712 900. In January 2018, Ford recalled the hot hatch for potential head gasket issues.

For the record, the Focus RS employs a turbocharged 2,3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine sending 257 kW and 440 N.m (with 470 N.m available on overboost) to all four corners via a six-speed manual transmission. The result? A claimed zero to 100 km/h time of 4,7 seconds and a top speed of 266 km/h.

Original article from Car