Ford’s muscular new RS will debut at the British International Motor Show, London, which opens its doors on the 23 July.

The new Focus RS marks the return of the famous but rare Ford RS badge, last seen on the first-generation Focus RS in 2002.

In keeping with the RS spirit of ultimate manageable performance, the newcomer will be propelled by a high power turbocharged Duratec 2.5-litre five-cylinder derivative. Extensive head, cam and intake and exhaust mods, coupled with mapping revisions, have resulted in a 300PS power delivery with 410Nm of torque. Testing is incomplete but engineers are mentioning sub-six second 0-62mph times, so it should be a fire cracker.

All-wheel drive was shunned by the team as a weighty over-complication to solving the issue of getting all this power down safely and manageably on the road and they’ve instead gone with front-wheel drive and an automatic torque biasing Quaife limited slip differential. A revised suspension works in unison with the LSD and, claims Ford, minimises torque-steer and other front end undesirables.

A special version of Ford’s ESP system has also been developed for the Focus RS, but the design team is at pains to point out that handling characteristics were refined without ESP, '"to hone the car's natural responses".

You can see from the pics the extent of the body and interior mods and the vehicle's green metallic flake finish will ensure the car is easily spotted at the local Tesco.

Due on sale early 2009, expect a price tag of around £25,000 and confirmation at the show.

Earlier story here