It’s been a long time coming, this on-again off-again RS Focus. Thankfully, it’s well and truly on, with the production car having been revealed at the British International Motor Show in London in July. It’s proven so popular that Ford is re-revealing the Focus RS in Paris as well.

But, it would seem they needn’t have bothered, as pre-orders for the hottest of hot hatches heat up, with 1000 customer orders placed to-date. The Electric Green, London Show car colour is proving the most popular, with 40 percent of applicants choosing the vibrant green shade. Frozen White and Electric Blue also have their share of fans.

“We’re delighted by the reaction of performance car enthusiasts to the new Focus RS and that so many want to place orders even though it will not be available until early next year,” said Roelant de Waard, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford of Britain.

The new Ford Focus RS is powered by a tuned version of Ford’s Duratec 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine. Power is an impressive 221kW (300PS) and torque a whopping 440Nm. The ‘Green Meanie’ will hit 100km/h from a standstill in under five seconds, on its way to a top-speed of 260km/h (160mph).

Ford is rightly proud to be rolling out their Rallye Sport badge once again. This will be the second Focus model to carry the RS mantle since 2002, the latest instalment in an automotive story which began with the iconic Ford Escort RS1600 in 1970. Let’s hope there is a happy ending for ‘us Aussies’, an announcement along the lines of :”Ford Australia is bringing the 2009 Focus RS to Australia”.