All the details and some eye-popping new pictures have been released of the Ford Focus RS – the most anticipated performance car of the year.

It has been confirmed the tuned 2.5-litre five-cylinder from the Focus ST will send 296bhp and a massive 302lb/ft of pulling power to the front wheels of the Ford Focus RS.

View more pictures of the Ford Focus RS

This should send it straight to the top of the hot hatchback pack, with acceleration from 0-60mph taking less than six seconds before the Ford Focus RS bumps into its limited top speed of 155mph.

It will be faster than the Vauxhall Astra VXR, Volkswagen Golf GTi, Honda Civic Type-R and Ford’s own Focus ST and will go into competition with the four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Lancer X and Subaru Impreza STi.

All-wheel-drive was considered during development, but Jost Capito, Director of the RS project ruled it out:

“As you would expect, we gave all-wheel drive careful consideration, but we have managed to eliminate the weight of AWD from the car and still have been able to target a class-leading balance of traction, handling and performance”.

Special attention has been paid to traction and power will be balanced between the front wheels by a limited slip differential developed by leading manufacturer Quaife.

View spy shots of the 2009 Ford Focus RS

This will work with a Ford technology called ‘RevoKnuckle’ to reduce the writhing effect of the steering in high-powered front-wheel-drive cars called torque steer.

Handling should be incredible thanks to bespoke suspension which sees the car grow in width by 40mm and sport new driveshafts, springs, dampers, anti-roll bars, a revised steering system and wide 235/35 profile tyres on unique 19-inch wheels.

The way the car behaves has been tuned over countless laps of the Nurburgring Nordschleife test track in Germany and Ford claims its standard Electronic Stability Programme will only intervene at the last moment and can be turned off fully for track use.

Inside, heavily sculpted Recaro seats come colour-matched to the exterior of the car and have leather accents, ‘RS’ and ‘Recaro’ stitched logos.

View computer-generated images of the Focus RS

The rear passengers get bolstered seats too and the centre console is finished in carbon-style trim. Also expect metallic highlights scattered around the interior and ‘RS’ scuff plates, six-speed gear knob and steering wheel.

The Ford Focus RS will be making its world debut at the British International Motor Show on July 23 and we’ll be there a few days earlier, so be sure to check back for all the latest news.

Is the Ford Focus ST hot or not? Have your say on the Auto Trader Blog

Can't wait until the Focus RS is on sale? Check out this video of the Focus ST: