At least until the next RS arrives, which should be rather a long wait.
The all-new Ford Focus isn’t all too far off from being officially unveiled, though it should still be many more months until we’ll be seeing it under a showroom roof. But when it does, though, expect a variant line-up that includes the ST hot hatch before long.
According to an Autocar report, the Mk4 Focus ST will be one of the first permutations that will be shown to the public prior to launch, similar to how Ford handled the unveiling of their 7th-generation Fiesta and subsequent Fiesta ST.
Like the Mk3 Focus of today, the ST will come as a 5-door hatch and Estate and retain its front-wheel drive layout, with automaker doubling down presenting appealing sporty cars to customers to differentiate the brand amongst a sea of venerable competitors. Clearly, buyers more readily pay a premium for a sporty Ford than a luxurious one, evidenced by the comparatively disappointing sales performance of their Vignale trim levels.
While there are others who bemoan the loss of the mellifluous 5-cylinder turbocharged engine, replaced by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost we know today, the next ST is set to undergo another downsizing exercise, this time to 1.5-litres.
It likely won’t be a more potent version of the three-cylinder powering the upcoming Fiesta ST but instead is likely to be an upgraded version of the EcoBoost15 in the current Focus. With twin-scroll turbocharging, direct injection, cylinder deactivation, and a little wizardry, Ford hopes to achieve all its power, emissions, and fuel efficiency goals through this smaller motor.
It will need to outpace the current ST’s 190kW and 360Nm, and a safe bet would be to expect somewhere in the region of 205kW and a particularly high specific output of at least 120kW per litre.
There’s less contention about what sort of engine will sit under the bonnet of the oil burning ST sold in other markets, likely to be an updated version of the current 2.0-litre turbodiesel. According to sources talking to Autocar, the ST should make its debut roughly 6 months after the unveiling of the more mainstream flavours of the Focus Mk4 meets the public eye, pegging it somewhere in the vicinity of spring 2018.
For more on Ford vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
