FORD is demonstrating to performance enthusiasts they don't have long to wait for another special model from Ford Team RS. The new Focus ST - sporting around 220PS and finished in brilliant orange for its Geneva preview - will be on sale towards the end of 2005. Powered by a turbocharged Duratec ST 2.5-litre, five-cylinder engine, and equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox, the Focus ST promises to raise the new Focus' reputation as a driver's car to new heights .

"When performance enthusiasts see this car, they are going to have high expectations. The Focus ST is going to live up to them," said Jost Capito, who heads Ford's racing and performance arm, Ford Team RS. "This car looks fast from its design, and every functional attribute is being engineered to deliver on that expectation." The new Focus family was designed from the outset with the four-door model as a major element, and its limousine style comes into its own within the overall design DNA of the new Focus range.

Not only is the new four-door design fully coherent with its sibling body styles - three-door, five-door, Estate and Focus C-MAX multi-activity vehicle - but its new levels of refinement and craftsmanship seem ideally suited to the traditional compact sedan shape. The new four-door model shares an identical front-end design with the other core products of the Focus range and translates the fast hatchback silhouette convincingly into the classic limousine body architecture.

The new Focus four-door was engineered to provide generous luggage space. Equipped with a mini-spare tyre, the Focus four-door offers maximum cargo space of 526 litres. The design imperative for the boot space was to incorporate a golf bag or two large clamshell-style suitcases.