Update 2/3/2015: Ford has unveiled the real, 315-plus-hp Focus RS that will officially be coming to America. Really.

What It Is: A semi-camouflaged Ford Focus ST packed to the gills with what appears to be serious performance hardware. That can only mean one thing: We’re looking at a Focus RS prototype. A number of this car’s features give it away as the hotly anticipated and apparently imminent Focus RS, Ford’s counter to the VW Golf R and Subaru WRX STI.

Why It Matters: The regular Focus ST is a sporty enough piece—it’s got 252 horsepower and top-shelf dynamics—but U.S. enthusiasts have been clamoring for an über-rorty RS for a long, long time. It still isn’t clear whether or not Ford will send the newest RS to our shores, but this model will elevate the current Focus’s performance—and price—to new heights.

View Photos CHRIS DOANE AUTOMOTIVE, MICHAEL SIMARI

Platform: The RS naturally will be based on the excellent platform underpinning the current-gen Focus, which makes it one of the finest-driving small cars extant. As is clear from these spy photos, the RS will more specifically be spun off the Focus ST, albeit with clear visual and functional differences.

For starters, the exhaust layout is unique. The ST has two center-exit exhaust outlets with a shared stylized tip, this RS mule gets two wide-set outlets. This detail also distinguishes this prototype from, say, the ST that’ll be updated with the 2015 Focus’s sheetmetal. (We’ve spotted some 2015 STs around our offices here in Michigan, and they retained their center-exit exhausts.) Another giveaway that this Focus means serious business is its wheel-and-tire package, which sees 19-inch Shelby GT500–esque rims wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires. The wheels are one inch larger in diameter than the ST’s 18s, and they sit in front of massive brakes. Up front, what appears to simply be elaborate camouflage loosely covers a more or less wide-open front end designed to funnel massive amounts of air to the radiator and intercooler.

Powertrain: It’s widely expected that in order to nudge up close to the 300-hp mark, the next Focus RS will borrow the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbo four seen in the new Mustang. Expect a six-speed manual to route power to either the front or all four tires; that’s right, the RS could pack all-wheel drive to corral all that fury. We compared this prototype’s rear end to that of our long-term 2014 Focus ST, and there’s definitely some hardware visible on the pictures that isn’t on our car. Taken with the re-routed exhaust, this could be evidence that the RS will go AWD. Alternatively, the low-hanging bits could be additional chassis bracing or re-worked suspension mounting points.

View Photos CHRIS DOANE AUTOMOTIVE, MICHAEL SIMARI

Competition: Subaru WRX STI, Volkswagen Golf R.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Everything we’ve been hearing points to a debut later this year or in early 2015 as a 2016 model. Given that the ST currently starts at $24,450 and can close in on $30,000, don’t expect the RS to come in much below $30K—if at all. Yes, the car would then be priced on top of a 2015 Mustang EcoBoost Premium and close in on a base Mustang GT, but we’re in the camp that believes the majority of pony-car and hot-hatch buyers stick to their vehicles of choice, alternatives be damned.

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