We still have until spring 2016 before the Ford Focus RS lands in U.S. dealerships, but eagle-eyed reader Travis Hinde has spotted an RS prototype testing in Denver, Colo. Seeing the car under the bright lights of an auto show is one thing, but it's quite another to see it out in the daylight on American roads.

The details that give this tester away as an RS model are the large, roof-mounted wing, multi-spoke alloy wheels, and unique rear bumper. Look closely at the wing and wheels and you can even see the RS logo stamped on them. Some kind of instrumentation can be seen on the roof, along with two probes protruding from beneath the passenger rocker panel. It's likely the mule was conducting high-altitude testing.

Though we know a lot about the all-wheel-drive Focus RS, we still don't know its exact power output. Ford has so far only said the RS will make "well in excess of 315 hp." The hot hatch will be powered by a turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost I-4 derived from the unit found in the Ford Mustang, and will drive all four wheels using a multi-clutch all-wheel drive system that can vary torque from front to back and side to side. The RS will also benefit from brake-based torque vectoring.

Since we're still several months out from driving Ford's hottest hot hatch, seeing this uncamouflaged prototype driving on U.S. soil makes the RS seem so close and yet so far.

Photo Credit: Travis Hinde