New Ford Focus ST May Arrive With 275 HP Three-Cylinder

Sam McEachern
by Sam McEachern

The Ford Focus ST has been spotted putting in laps at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, signaling the hot hatchback’s arrival in early 2019.

The 2020 Focus ST will go on sale soon after the arrival of the mainstream 2019 Focus next year. It’s expected to trade the old 2.0-liter turbocharged engine in for a 1.5-liter turbo from Ford’s new L Dragon family of three-cylinders. We hear this tiny little three-pot will be making up to 275 hp in the new Focus ST, which is a safe bet considering the latest additions to the segment, the Hyundai i30 N and Veloster N, make that much.

SEE ALSO: 2020 Ford Focus RS Rumored to be Electrified

In addition to making more power, the 1.5-liter is expected to be more efficient and emissions friendly than the 2.0-liter. The engine is also expected to offer single cylinder deactivation for further fuel savings over the outgoing powerplant.

Like the current Focus ST, the next-generation model will also get exclusive front and rear fascias, sportier wheels wrapped in performance tires, beefed up suspension and some ST-branded interior content.

We’re expecting the 2020 Ford Focus ST to debut sometime later this year before going on sale in early 2019.

Discuss this story on our Ford Focus Forum.

Sam McEachern
Sam McEachern

Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.

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  • Glorious nippon steel Glorious nippon steel on Apr 17, 2018

    still a ford, still trash

  • Fred Fred on Apr 17, 2018

    One thing no one mentions about Ford's 3 cylinder family. INTERNAL timing belts soaked in oil. That may be fine for my Honda power equipment, but for a road going car? Really? The invasive surgery that'll be needed when that sucker breaks will total the car.

    • Cobranut Cobranut on Apr 19, 2018

      So true. My 2004 ZX3 beater has over 250,000 hard miles on the 2.3 Duratec, with the only things changed being the oil, filters, and 2 ignition coils, even the clutch is original. Never even had the cam cover off. It still runs as good as ever, uses no oil, and still gets 30+mpg. It'll be interesting to see if these tiny little turbocharged direct injection motors make it even half that far with as few problems.

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