This is the new Ford Focus RS, possibly the most mouthwatering hot hatch you’ll set eyes on this year.

After five years absence from Ford showrooms, the emotive RS badge is making a comeback on the Focus – and is set to wow driving enthusiasts with its wild looks and even wilder performance.

Taking a significant step-up from the existing ST model, the RS is powered by a 2.5-litre, turbocharged engine with 300bhp, capable of the 0 to 60mph sprint in under six seconds.

Those figures are all the more staggering when you consider the fast Ford will retain the Focus’s front-wheel-drive layout rather than relying on the extra traction of four-wheel-drive from rivals such as Mitsubishi’s Evo and the Subaru Impreza STI.

Unlike the previous generation Focus RS, which could be a is confident the new RS will be the ultimate road car, with clever suspension and under-bonnet mechanical trickery.

We can't wait to drive it

The Focus RS looks the part also, with a deep front spoiler, classic bonnet louvres, RS-badge side vents, blistered wheel arches, a huge roof-mounted rear wing, aerodynamic rear-bumper venturi and a pair of large chrome exhausts.

It may be a visual slap-in-the- face but Ford’s RS models have never exactly been subtle – think about the 1970 Escort RS1600.

Ford remains tight-lipped about further details of the RS but dealers are taking expressions of interest from potential buyers prior to its early 2009 on-sale date. It’s likely to send rivals Subaru and Mitsubishi back to the drawing board, with a price tag of about £25,000.

We can’t wait to drive it.