Ford previews the new Focus ST at Paris

So this is the new Ford Focus ST then. The new Ford Focus range will be the star attraction in Ford’s display at the 2010 Paris Motor Show on September 30th, and Ford have also chosen to use the event as the world premiere for the exciting flagship of the range, the muscular 246 bhp Focus ST. The all-new Ford Focus ST will be Ford’s first high-performance model developed under its new global Performance Vehicles strategy.

The bad news for Fast-Ford fans is that the range-topping ST isn’t due for launch until early 2012 – so you can look but don’t touch – but the ST-look certainly seems to hide some of the frumpiness of the new Focus, which is perhaps the reason Ford chose to showcase it so early.

The new range-topping Focus – which features a unique 246 bhp version of the new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine – will be true to Ford’s ST heritage, offering driving enthusiasts an intoxicating cocktail of exhilarating performance and handling accompanied by an addictive sound – but note the 4-cylinder powerplant which replaces the characterful ex-Volvo 5-cylinder engine used in the previous ST. We wonder if this new powerplant will really be quite a match for its predecessor’s 5-cylinder warble.

There will be a host of other new Ford models on display at Paris, including the all-new Ford C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, plus of course the more edgy looking new Mondeo range.