It's official, a new halo brand has been created at Ford, and it's called Ford Performance. Think of it as Dearborn's own version of M or AMG.

The new division will be led by chief Mustang engineer Dave Pericak, and it will unify SVT, Team RS, and Ford Racing as a single, cohesive global brand.

Ford's Raj Nair says Ford Performance will have an "agile, skunkworks-type spirit." Earlier in the same press conference, Ford honcho Mark Fields confirmed once and for all that the next-gen Focus RS will indeed be a global vehicle. We're finally getting it.

That car will be part of a 12-vehicle performance onslaught that will roll out through 2020.

Our sources also tell us that the ultra-focused, Z/28-hunting Shelby GT350R, the new F-150 Raptor, and the ultra-secret Ford GT successor are among the Ford Performance product announcements planned for next month's Detroit Auto Show.

Stay tuned.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io