Focus RS breaks cover

Teaser video ahead of official details in February - but is it front-drive or not?

So welcome to the big debate of early 2015 - is the new Ford Focus RS all-wheel drive, or not? It's been keeping the internet busy for some time.

But Ford's release of a teaser video of a prototype drifting its way around what looks like the company's Lommel test track in Belgium (and reportedly driven by none other than Ken Block himself) has dropped a very broad hint that the new RS will indeed direct its power to all four corners. Either that or it's a cunning double bluff and, to judge from how far around the corners the Focus is still travelling sideways, his Blockness has been allowed to run with some serious rear brake bias or a set of Ditchfinder Supremes on the back.

Definitely cocking a wheel here - but is that a triple bluff?

The question has certainly split opinion, with one big U.S. website reporting as fact that the RS will get a "brand-new, performance orientated AWD system that should skew towards a 50/50 front-to-rear torque bias", and Autocar saying that Ford insiders "confirmed last year that four-wheel drive had been tried for the new RS in early engineering studies but engineers had decided to stick with the front-wheel drive formula."

We're going to courageously sit on the fence on this one - although in one shot the car is clearly cocking its rear wheel like the finest front-drive hatches of old. Please tell us what you think (especially if you're a senior Ford powertrain engineer). We should have too long to wait to find out, with the new car set to be officially unveiled on the February 3.

We'll find out more on the February 3

What we're more sure of is that the new RS will use a version of the Mustang's 2.3 litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, turned transversely and likely to be producing around 330hp. It will also be part of Ford's new Global Performance brand and, as with the Fiesta and Focus ST, Ford is planning to sell the new RS globally for the first time. Meaning that the Mk3 is likely to be produced in far greater numbers than either of its predecessors.

If the role of a teaser video is to spark debate, this one has certainly succeeded.

See the video here.