Ford officials said a performance edition of the Focus, the RS, would be coming soon. Now we get a glimpse.

At an end-of-the-year briefing at company headquarters in Michigan, Ford officials confirmed that the maker would be launching an all-new version of the high-performance Focus RS. They just didn’t bother to say when or where.

With the release of the first teaser video of the new RS, Ford has at least confirmed that the new model will make its world debut on Feb. 3. And while it still isn’t revealing what’s under the hood, it appears the new RS will live up to expectations for some serious muscle – some estimates running as high as 400 horsepower bursting from a 2.3-liter turbocharged four.

The video shows an undisguised Mk3 Focus RS blasting around Ford’s Lommel Proving Grounds in Belgium, performing some aggressive drifts that have raised questions about whether the compact model will maintain its front-drive layout or, for the first time, switch to an all-wheel-drive configuration.

What goes without question is that the next-gen Focus RS will serve as the model line flagship. It also is expected to be sold worldwide with only modest changes to reflect local regulations. At the December media briefing, Ford President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs described the RS as the next example of the maker’s ambitious One Ford plan, which aims to shift the company from a regional to a global approach to product development.

The Focus ST-R, a "turnkey" track car you can order right out of the Ford parts catalogue, may be obsolete when the Focus RS hits showrooms.

Ford has said it plans to roll out “more than 12” new models by 2020 from the newly globalized performance division it announced at the December meeting. And most, if not all, will now become available in the U.S., including the RS, which never made the jump across the Atlantic in gens one and two form.

Ford appears determined to put the next Focus on a par with much more upscale competitors, such as the Audi RS3 and the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG.

Considering the maker’s increasing emphasis on its EcoBoost family, some form of turbocharged powertrain seems assured, and speculation centers around Ford’s 2.3-liter version which would be upgraded to deliver anywhere from 325 to 400 hp, depending upon which sources you believe. That’s the same basic EcoBoost powertrain introduced on the 2015 Ford Mustang.

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To handle all that power, expect to see the new RS go AWD, rather than trying to handle abundant torque through the front rubber. As with a growing number of performance models, the all-wheel-drive system would feature torque vectoring. In a turn, power would be reduced on the inner wheels, helping enhance cornering capabilities.

The teaser images and recent spy shots of the third-generation Focus RS suggest it will be enhanced by larger front air vents, both to feed the EcoBoost engine and cool its high-performance brakes. The body will be lowered slightly, and feature other performance-enhancing aerodynamic tweaks, including a rear diffuser.

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“To earn the RS badge,” Ford product development chief Raj Nair recently said, “the vehicle has to be a no-compromise driver’s car that can deliver exceptional performance on the track when required while providing excellent every day driving.”

While the 2016 Ford Focus RS will finally be offered in the U.S., expect production to be based in Europe, according to various sources, rather than added to the Focus line in suburban Detroit.

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Pricing is not likely to be revealed until closer to the American introduction.