Focus Rs

Autocar has some sour news for fans of go-fast Ford products. According to Roelant de Waard, Ford's president of marketing in Europe, the automaker will probably never offer more than one RS performance model for sale at the same time. That statement runs contrary earlier rumblings that suggested Ford would launch its next-generation Focus RS in 2015 and follow the hatch with a spate o

We may have to make due with the Focus ST here in the United States (note: we are not complaining), but an even hotter version – the Focus RS – has historically been quite a hit in Europe. And according to a report in Auto Express, the next-generation RS should be one hot little number when it launches in 2014.

Here's some fun news. Auto Express reports the next-generation Ford Focus RS could pack as much as 330 horsepower courtesy of a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine. That's a substantial jump over the 247 hp found in the new Focus ST. Matthias Ton, the chief program engineer for global performance cars at Ford, admits the turbo 2

While we wait patiently for the fall launch of the 2013 Ford Focus ST – and for Ford to decide whether the U.S. market is worthy of the three-door Fiesta ST – our English-speaking friends overseas are consumed with other worries. Like whether the next Jeff Sabatini

Engines keep getting smaller, but that doesn't mean they're getting weaker. Case in point: Ford, which is developing a new 2.3-liter four with turbocharging and direct injection. It's rumored to go into the Mustang in a couple of years, but sources from across the pond (read: Hot Hatch country) expect it to power the next Focus RS.

Despite driving only the front wheels, reviewers have heaped praise on the current Ford Focus RS's handling and its ability to put 300 horsepower to the road thanks to some nifty suspension and driveline tricks. However, when the next-generation RS rolls into town (assuming that it becomes a reality) it may well have all-wheel-drive courtesy of an electric motor driving the rear axle.

Ford Focus RS 500 on the test track – Click above to watch video after the jump

Next-gen Ford Focus – Click above for high-res image gallery

2009 Ford Focus RS – Click above for high-res image gallery

2009 Ford Focus RS – Click above for high-res image gallery

401-hp Ford Focus tuned Mcchip-dkr – Click above for high-res image gallery

Click above to watch the video after the jump

UPDATE: Ford just wrote us to clarify that while the all-new Focus RS just introduced in Europe won't be for sale in the U.S., "Ford intends to bring some new RS' to the US (as we've already seen in the spy photos of the white car) to use as marketing assets for feedback from enthusiasts" and media.

Click above to watch video after the jump