2012 Ford Focus ST

The 2012 Ford Focus ST will be the brand’s first high-performance model developed under the watchful eye of its global performance vehicle team, and while the hatch you see here is being billed as a design study. The new Ford Focus ST will be the centerpiece of the automaker’s display at the upcoming 2010 Paris Auto Show. The Focus ST is slated to go on sale in early 2012, about a year after its stablemates begin to reach dealers in North America and Europe.

Power is provided by an EcoBoost 2.0-liter inline four churning out 247 turbocharged horsepower, and Ford promises that the ST’s handling and aural delights will live up to the marque’s performance heritage. On display in Paris for the first time together are all three body styles of the new Focus — four-door sedan, five-door hatchback and four-door wagon.

Also coming to Paris this year will be the C-MAX and Grand C-MAX and the new Mondeo. Fordalso plans to detail the technology that will drive its upcoming C-Max plug-in hybrid, which will be built in Valencia, Spain.