When Henry Ford revealed the Model T - the world’s first mass-produced car - in 1908, he famously stated that you could have it in any colour you liked, so long as it was black. Well the company has returned to its roots with the announcement of a special edition Focus RS500, of which only 500 will be built and all of them in matte black.

At first glance it resembles a stealth bomber. Powered by a 2.5 litre, five cylinder engine, it can reach 0 - 60 mph in 5.4 secs with a maximum speed of 165 mph. The production run will be limited to just 500 with 101 of those destined for the UK.

The RS500 is based upon the standard Focus RS with a few more bells and whistles added. The most striking of these is the special paint work. The car is finished in a standard Panther Black metallic finish but then sent to a dedicated 3M facility near Frankfurt, Germany, where a special foil film will be applied to create the matte black effect.

The film is extremely durable, and is specifically designed to resist superficial marks and scratches.  In the event of damage to the bodywork, Ford dealers will be supported by a Europe-wide network of 3M agents who can replace the film on the affected panels.

The vehicle joins a long line of iconic RS Fords which became synonymous with success on the road and track and is a successor to the legendary Sierra RS500 Cosworth that dominated saloon car racing during the late 1980s.

To provide the RS500 with a fitting power unit, the 305 PS turbocharged Duratec RS 2.5-litre engine from the standard Focus RS has been upgraded to deliver significantly more top-end and mid-range power, but without compromising the base engine’s strength and responsiveness at lower revs.

The high-performance braking system, and the 19-inch wheels and 235/35/R19 tyres, are also carried over unchanged from the standard vehicle, although red brake calipers and a dramatic black finish for the alloy wheels are unique to the RS500.

The RS500 marks the end of production for the current generation Focus RS, with the last vehicles scheduled to leave Ford’s Saarlouis assembly plant in Germany during September 2010. This of course begs the question, why buy something that is going to be superseded soon? The answer is that the new Focus won’t appear until next year and it could be 2014 before the first RS models are available.

The car will not be to everyone’s taste and there are those who will still prefer something like a Honda Civic Type R, but Ford has certainly produced a mean-looking machine that will appeal to a certain type of driver. Whether it will become the collectors’ item of the future which they claim it will, remains to be seen.