Focus Rs

Evald Jåstad of Norway drives a Ford Focus RS called "Blue Lightning" as his taxi, and the locals love it.

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 of other vehicles with an RS badge. But de Waard has made it clear that Ford of Europe is now focused squarely on

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 2.0-liter in the ST is too close to its power ceiling to glean any more grunt without a substantial revision of the turbo and fuel systems. If Ford decides to buil

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 Focus RS will, in fact, be a Fiesta.

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 Le Mans Editions – Click above for high-res image gallery

Alas, poor Focus RS, we knew ye not at all. We're not sure which is the biggest tragedy – the fact that Ford never graced the U.S. with the joy that is the company's wild hatchback or that the three-door is already being sent out to pasture. Either way, buyers in the UK can now equip their new RS models with a set of slick rally-inspired wheels. For the low cost of just $741 at current conversion rates and including the Britain's notorious Value Added Tax, Ford will be happy to install a s

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

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

With that in mind, consider this: Some speed loving nutters over in jolly ol' England have gone ahead and swapped in a 275 horsepower four-banger from a 2003 Ford Focus RS into the waiting bay of a Transit Connect. That's pretty cool, eh? It actually gets a bit better. The builder installed a switch that let's you switch tanks from gasoline to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). When running on LPG, the motor still churns out 200 hp.

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