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Ford Escort testing, may be bound for Europe

There has been little news about Ford's China-focused Escort concept since debuting at last year's Shanghai Motor Show, but the no-frills sedan has shown its camouflaged face again during cold weather testing in Northern Sweden. While far from a guarantee, the test location might hint that the Blue Oval plans to market the car outside of Asia.
The Escort's black robe and zebra paint make it hard to tell if anything specific has changed about the design, but the shape of the sedan looks close to what was shown in Shanghai. Under the disguise, you can still make out the hexagonal front grille from the concept. When Ford announced the model, the company said that the design wasn't supposed to be "arrogant or pretentious," and it certainly achieved that. The engine range is still a mystery, but it seems safe to expect small, economy-focused powertrains.
A report from last year indicated that Ford may be considering broadening the new Escort beyond Asia and possibly even selling it in Europe. The fact that the company brought it to Sweden for testing could bolster that argument. A release date hasn't been set yet, but the automaker has promised 15 new products for China by 2015. The basic sedan could be on the road soon.

Ford Focus RS ready to make our hot hatch dreams real

Ford's current hot hatch siblings the Fiesta ST and Focus ST are already two pretty great entries into the segment, but there's always a desire for a little more. Thankfully, it looks like the Blue Oval is ready to satiate that need because it's continuing to test the even more powerful Focus RS around Europe. According to our spy shooters, these shots come from near the Nürburgring.
As with previous photos, Ford engineers continue to heavily camouflage the front end of the RS prototypes, but there's a big difference here. Unlike earlier ones, this example appears to have a closer-to-production-ready front bumper rather than just a horizontal strip for the license plate. That may point to development getting somewhat closer to wrapping up. Although, this one lacks the larger rear wing from prior testers, and the exhaust also appears to be a work in progress with the rear diffuser covered in mesh in these latest shots.
The RS is rumored to be using the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the 2015 Mustang, but power is reportedly turned up from 310 horsepower in the 'Stang to somewhere between 325 hp and 350 hp for the Focus. Routing all that just through the front wheels could be a recipe for serious torque steer, and all-wheel drive is potentially being used for better traction.

Watch Piquet and Mansell bend some sheetmetal in Ford Fusion GP

As we told you about before, there were four episodes planned for the Ford Fusion GP campaign in Brazil, and the whole series has now run its course. The Ford ads pit Brazilian Formula One driver Nelson Piquet against English F1 pilot Nigel Mansell driving the new Fusion, the two coming together again after their partnership at the Williams F1 team ended in a miserable state more than 20 years ago.
They're lined up for you below, in reverse chronological order. You should watch number three first, though, as it adds a bit more spice to the NASCAR action in the fourth.