2016 Ford Focus RS hits the Nurburgring (video)

Ford have started testing the 2016 Focus RS at the Nurburgring, using a Focus ST mule to shakedown the mechanical of the new RS ahead of a 2016 debut.

One car Ford has failed to produce in the latest Focus is the Focus RS, but that is set to change with plans for a new range-topping Focus RS hitting Ford’s showrooms in 2016, a year before the current Focus is due for an update.

So it’s no surprise to see Ford starting to blat the new Focus RS round the Nurburgring – albeit using a Focus ST as a mule for the RS’s powertrain – ahead of a probable reveal late in 2015.

Almost certainly powering the new Focus RS is the 2.3 litre EcoBoost from the new Ford Mustang, which gets 304bhp in the Mustang but which is expected to get as much as 345bhp in the new RS – as much as the old Focus RS500 managed.

But despite the extra power, Ford will stick with front-wheel-drive for the new Focus RS – a 4WD drivetrain was deemed too complicated and expensive – but Ford will try to manage the torquesteer with a revised version of their Revoknuckle front suspension and an electronic diff.

What also seems likely is that the new Focus RS will be a five-door – Ford don’t currently make a three-door Focus – and come with the expected go-faster bodykit, bigger brakes and extra toys.

Expected to go on sale in 20916, the nw Focus RS is likely to come in at a bit under £30,000.