After years of being kept away from U.S. shores, it looks like the Ford Focus RS will finally be available on this side of the Atlantic, and soon.
The latest version of Ford’s hottest Focus will be unveiled February 3, but before that the Blue Oval is teasing fans with a short video showing what the RS can do.
It looks pretty good sliding around like a rally car during tests filmed in both the U.S. and Belgium, but heavy camouflage still obscures the exterior styling.
Equally unclear is what will power this beast. Most rumors point to the 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder that debuted in the 2015 Mustang, tuned to produce at least 300 horsepower, but possibly much more.
All-wheel drive is also reportedly a possibility, and you can expect the RS to have uprated suspension and brakes compared to the current ST performance model.
The RS’ likely competition includes the Subaru WRX STI and Volkswagen Golf R, so a base price in the mid $30,000 range seems likely.
The Focus RS is one of 12 new performance models Ford plans to unveil between now and 2020.
They’ll all be part of the new Ford Performance brand that’s intended to globalize the development of performance vehicles the same way the One Ford policy streamlined the development of regular cars.
That internationalist spirit is why Ford is bringing the formerly Europe-only RS here, and hopefully it will be worth the wait.
