Ford Teases the Focus RS and Announces February 3 Reveal

2016 Ford Focus RS Teaser (Credit: © Ford)

There have been so many awesome debuts so far into 2015 that it’s hard to believe that it’s still only the end of January. But we can’t stop and smell the burning petrol now, as Ford Is still blazing the path through 2015 with yet another new performance rig. This time around Ford is showing off a dynamic teaser video of the upcoming Focus RS.

Along with this video chock-full with hot-hatch sideways motion comes the official reveal date of the new Focus RS, which happens to be February 3, 2015. That’s right hatchback fans, we’ll soon learn all of the juicy details behind the first-ever Focus RS to make its way to the U.S. in just about a week’s time.

The only mechanical part of the 2016 Focus RS that I feel confident to say is a near certainty is that it’ll feature the 2.3-liter, EcoBoost four-cylinder from the Mustang. In the mustang, this powerful four-pot delivers 310 horses and 320 pound-feet of twist. I honestly see zero reason for Ford to detune the 2.3-liter engine any, but it may need to due to structural and mechanical limitations of the small hatchback. If it does indeed detune the engine, I would expect torque and horsepower to both go no lower than 300.

As for the driveline, that’s nearly a complete mystery. Sure, the Focus RS will definitely come with a row-your-own, six-cog gearbox and maybe an optional, fast-shifting autobox, but the number of driven wheels is still up for speculation. In the video it is really hard to tell if this hatch is being pulled by the front wheels or driven by all four, but there is little evidence of the understeer created by most FWD setups. So, it is possible that the 2016 Focus RS will include a torque-vectoring AWD system. This is evident by some of the tail-happy maneuvers that the Focus pulls off in the video below.

Either way, we’ll find out soon enough. Stay tuned for more details.