Ford‘s 2012 Focus has kept a low profile since it’s debut at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. While we heard endless stories about the Chevrolet Cruze in the run up to its launch, the only news coming out from the Ford camp is the admittedly big announcement about the Focus ST.

Now comes another nugget of information leaking out from Dearborn, this time in video form. A pre-production 2012 Focus is seen lapping the track, and while it’s hard to decode much from the video, The Truth About Cars seems to be enthusiastic about the car’s handling prowess. Judge for yourself after the jump.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

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Ford has just unveiled the first example of its new One Ford philosophy, the 2011 Focus. Offered as both a five-door hatchback and four-door sedan, both models look quite unique but offer the same aggressive front end and high-quality paint. At launch one engine will be offered, a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with direct-injection technology that makes an impressive 155-hp and 145 ft-lbs of torque. Ford has, however, confirmed that the Focus will be offered with an EcoBoost engine in all markets in the future. Presumably, this will be Ford’s 1.6-liter EcoBoost with 180-hp.

The 2.0-liter engine is the fist naturally aspirated direct-injection engine used by Ford in North America and comes mated to a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that works to improve fuel economy and deliver lightning quick shifts.

No fuel-economy numbers have been released yet, but Ford says the new focus will be a fuel economy leader. That is quite a claim considering the new Chevy Cruze gets 40 mpg on the highway.

Ford plans to offer the new Focus with plenty of optional premium items including keyless entry, active park assist, a backup camera and the next generation of Ford’s SYNC technology, MyFord Touch.

Described by Bill Ford as “responsible, fun and functional,” Ford said that the industry is at the intersection of the economy, energy and the environment and that the company’s that will succeed will deliver these aspects in an exciting package.

At the launch of the car, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said it was “the right car for the right time, for the right reasons.” Ford, is betting on the compact car segment, which is expected to grow to 25 percent of the U.S. market by 2012. In addition, compact cars make up 25 percent of all cars sold throughout the world. In total, Ford plans to launch 10 vehicles based on the new Focus platform, including the C-Max MPV, which will launch in the U.S. later this year.

GALLERY: 2011 Ford Focus

Official release after the jump:

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The upcoming 2011 Ford Focus will get a tiny 1.2-liter EcoBoost engine, but not until several years into its production and probably not in North America. According to a report by Motor Trend, two new EcoBoost engines are planned by Ford, with the other being a 0.9-liter 3-cylinder engine which will make its way into the Fiesta.

The 1.2-liter motor, while most likely too small for the U.S., certainly wouldn’t disappoint, however, with an output of roughly 135-hp and 135 ft-lbs of torque. And with Chevy recently unveiling a new turbocharged 1.4-liter engine for the Cruze, if a 1.4-liter is possible, why not a 1.2?

As EcoBoost engines, both would be turbocharged and feature direct-injection.

For is putting a lot of focus on EcoBoost engines, as the downsizing effect naturally reduces the weight of the car – which means less horsepower is necessary to achieve the same acceleration. In addition, they reduce fuel consumption and emissions while the lower weight makes for a better handling car.

The new EcoBoost engines are expected in Europe during a mid-cycle refresh of the new Focus and Fiesta lines, replacing the current 1.6 and 1.8-liter motors.

In North America, Ford will soon deliver a 2.0-liter EcoBoost motor, capable of making 200-hp and 221 ft-lbs of torque. It is expected to replace many of the V6 offerings in vehicles like the Fusion and Escape. In addition, a new 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine with around 180-hp and 180 ft-lbs will arrive later this year in the new Focus-based C-Max MPV.

[Source: Motor Trend]

The idea of building a vehicle to compete with the Toyota FT-86 is “interesting,” but not necessarily the direction Ford has in mind when it comes to the future of small sporty cars. This is according to Ford marketing boss Jim Farley, who’s brain we had a chance to pick a few weeks back during a preview of the all new 2011 Focus.

With Ford having just announced the new 2011 Mustang and Mustang GT, with big increases in power (the V6 now making over 300-hp), it means the iconic pony car no longer competes in the same segment as vehicles like the Hyudai Genesis Coupe. (Not that it really ever did anyway). And with Toyota’s entry-level rear-drive sports car being prepared to hit the market, rumors have suggested that both Volkswagen and Kia are contemplating similar vehicles. So we thought we’d ask Ford about its plans.

“I do think the direction is interesting,” said Farley, but qualified that statement and sent the conversation in a new direction by commenting that what he sees as more compelling are cars like the Subaru WRX, which take a standard economy car (the Impreza) and turn it into a pocket rocket. That of course had the gathered journalists buzzing about the possibility that the Focus RS could very well make its way to North America.

The idea of a Focus RS also works with Ford’s new ONE Ford slogan, which is more than a marketing pitch, but an entirely new business philosophy for the American automaker.The idea is to build world car platforms to significantly reduce costs, from research and development to marketing.

And with an RS model being based on a Focus platform, and the new Focus a genuine world car, many of the roadblocks to bringing the RS to North American in the past are likely to be removed with the all-new Focus model, which is set to debut at the Detroit Auto Show on January 11th.

Even if an RS model never does get approved for North America there are possibilities for peppy small cars, from the Focus to the new Fiesta. During a discussion a day earlier with Dan Kapp, Director of Advanced Powertrain, Engineering and Research at Ford, we asked about the future of EcoBoost engines as performance options. Ford has already announced a new 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost 4-cylinder for Europe, which makes 200-hp and 221 ft-lbs of torque. It’s comparable to the same power a 3.0-liter V6 makes and is expected to be replace many V6 offerings in cars like the Fusion. Following the 2.0 EcoBoost will be a 1.6-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder that will make roughly 180-hp and 180 ft-lbs of torque.

While the original EcoBoost motor, the 365-hp 3.5-liter V6, is found in niche market luxury and performance cars like the Taurus SHO and several Lincoln models, Kapp suggested that future EcoBoost engines will be use as more of a mainstream fuel-economy alternatives in the future. He wouldn’t rule it out as a performance option, however, and when asked if the new 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter EcoBoost mills could be offered in cars like the Focus and Fiesta he said that he, “could imagine them being used as a performance option.”