Focus RS

Ford Australia has confirmed it will reach out to owners of the Focus RS hot hatch for an engine fault that could see vehicles expel white exhaust smoke and consume excessive amounts of coolant. The issue was first reported last month, after owners in the UK complained their vehicles were misfiring and smoking from the exhaust when the engine was cold.

The hotter version of one the hottest hatches you can buy - the Ford Focus RS500 - may never see the light of day, according to a new report out of the UK. According to Autocar, the circa-295kW hyper-hatch is currently around a 30 per cent chance of entering production (according to unnamed sources), because there isn’t a strong business case for such a model.

The third instalment of the Ford Focus RS hot-hatch is close to being signed off by its manufacturer, according to a UK report. CarAdvice wrote in March 2012 how development of the next-generation RS had been delayed, and UK publication Autocar claims Ford insiders have now indicated it's back on track - for a 2015 launch.