When the head of Ford’s->ke31 Special Vehicles Team (SVT) jetted for another opportunity at Volkswagen, Ford was left debating what to do with the popular RS line of vehicles, which we unfortunately have yet to see in the U.S. Up until recently, it has been pretty much a certainty that the Focus RS would simply carry on into its third generation, but according to Autocar, Ford is becoming a little indecisive since SVT’s recent shakeup.

Now Ford is starting to consider replacing the popular Focus RS->ke438 with the Fiesta RS. The biggest reason for Ford’s reconsidering of the Focus RS is the fact that the newest generation of the Focus will not include a three-door hatchback, the staple body style for the RS line. The Fiesta->ke1170, on the other hand, is available in a three-door hatchback in the European market, making it the obvious replacement.

It looks as if the RS might just make it to the U.S. market in this generation, as the other main part of the holdup on Ford’s decision is the fact that the U.S. market would likely prefer the larger and more powerful Focus RS over the compact Fiesta RS. That would give the U.S. market a nice group of performance compact Fords, regardless of the model it chooses. The Focus ST is already heading to the states and the Fiesta ST is in development, which will also likely come to the States. Add in the RS line and that gives us three hot Ford compacts to play around with.

We honestly think that given the recent market swing toward quick hatchback models, Ford would be best suited to get into that market early by handing the Fiesta the “RS” badge. If Ford manages to get into the hot-hatch market early enough with the Fiesta RS, it could benefit the entire Fiesta lineup in coming years.

We will continue to keep you updated on this growing story as more details emerge.

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