Ford Focus RS reveal early next month

Ford has released a high-impact teaser video showing the extreme level of performance its new Focus RS hyper hatch will offer customers, while confirming the cars global reveal for February 3, 2015.

Expected to take pride of place at the Geneva motor show a month later, details on the new Focus RS have not been divulged but it's widely expected to get the same high-output 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder EcoBoost engine from the Mustang.

That means the new RS will get a power output of around 250kW, up from the previous RS model's 225kW. And as the video shows, it's enough mumbo to get the Focus RS drifting perfectly through corners.

Unlike the Mustang's longitudinal layout, the Focus RS's donk will be transverse, and because it's built on the same production line as the regular Focus, the new RS will be sold in almost every global market the regular Focus is found.

That means Australians will certainly be able to buy the third generation Focus RS when it comes here, a date which is yet to be confirmed. Ford will launch an updated version of the 184kW Focus ST hot hatch here in April, with a new look inside and out.

As well as the pumping new 2.3-litre turbo four, the chassis of the Focus RS is also be expected to be stiffer with firmer dampers and springs, as shown in the video when the Focus RS easily lifts its rear-wheel during extreme changes in direction.

Other changes to the new Ford Focus RS over the current fastest Focus, the 184kW Focus ST, include a wider track for improved stability, matched with flared wheel arches, more aggressive and wider tyres, large-diameter twin exhaust pipes and a full sports body kit comprising front and rear fascias and a roof spoiler.

Make no mistake, the new Focus RS will not be a shrinking violet.

Underneath its muscular exterior, expect a limited slip differential with the return of Ford's RevoKnuckle front suspension designed to reduce torque steer. Throw in bigger brakes, a beefed-up six-speed manual transmission and you're looking at what could be a challenger to the title of the world's fastest front-drive hatch.

Interestingly, there is talk the third-gen Focus RS could yet be an all-wheel drive vehicle, and the way the car drifts through corners in the video lends weight to this theory. We'll know soon enough...

Another talking point was the question mark hanging over the vehicle's future, with Ford executives at one point saying the Focus RS was extinct.

However mid-way through 2014 Ford's top brass confirmed the go-fast Focus would return and it's expected to be the fastest, most capable Focus RS yet. It builds on the storied RS, or Rallye Sport heritage, that stretches back to the 1960s. Some of its best-known products include the mid 1980s RS200 and the early 1990s Ford Escort RS Cosworth.

The new hot hatch is being developed under the blue oval's new global Ford Performance group, which plans to develop 12 new tyre-frying halo cars by 2020. Another vehicle recently announced from the group is the striking Ford GT supercar, revealed at the 2015 Detroit motor show.

This new Ford Focus RS teaser video also sends a very clear message to Renault Sport, the hot shop behind the world's fastest front-drive car, the Megane RS 275 Trophy-R: all hail the new king.