FocusRS 7

Ford has confirmed that there will be a Ford Focus RS based on the current Mk3 Focus, and it will be a global car. Yes, that means it could possibly be launched in regions like North America, but will they buy something like this over their Mustangs and Camaros?

We already knew that a new Focus RS would be coming, thanks to spyshots of mules being tested around Europe. The spy photos in the gallery show a prototype Focus RS wearing ST panels that have been mutilated to fit and cool what is surely some serious hardware. At the front, there is a deeper lower air dam, feeding a stream of cool air to the enormous intercooler that peeks through the mesh. The ST's central tailpipe has also been gutted, replaced by a pair of large exhaust tips.

The Mk2 Focus RS used a Volvo-sourced 2.5 litre five-cylinder engine producing 305 PS and 440 Nm of torque. A limited edition Mk2 Focus RS 500 was released later, with a tweaked engine doing 350 PS and 460 Nm. The RS will have rivals like the A 45 AMG with 360 PS, 450 Nm and the newly unveiled RS3 Sportback with 367 PS, 465 Nm to contend with, so it will definitely have to at least match those numbers.

The Volvo engine will be gone. Instead, it's rumoured to use a variant of the 2.3 litre turbocharged four-cylinder in the new Ford Mustang, which produces 310 horses and 433 Nm in that application.