Is Ford Really Making A 2025 Focus RS?

The Ford Focus RS' blend of functionality and performance made it a hit back when SlashGear reviewed it in 2017. Unfortunately for its fans, it was discontinued after just two years in the United States, ending its run in 2018. The ordinary Ford Focus was planned for 2019 and there was speculation that the Focus RS would re-emerge with a next gen model. This hope was dashed when Ford released a statement in 2020 that the Focus RS was not going to happen after all due to the high development costs of adding an electric element and Europe's changed emission laws.

Now, years later, the Ford Focus RS is rumored to be returning once more. While car enthusiasts have been getting their hopes up, Ford has not officially announced any plans for the Focus RS and all images of futuristic Focus RS concepts are the work of AI. It can be tricky to tell which images of cars are real as AI programs continue to improve but there are some consistent clues to keep an eye out for to help spot fake images.

There's no shortage of videos on YouTube hyping up the rumors surrounding the fictional 2025 Ford Focus RS, but these videos are using AI-created images to sell a dream. If you take a closer look at these AI images, however, you'll notice some patterns that give them away. The first giveaway is lettering. The image above doesn't have misspelled words and fake letters like some AI images (like this debunked 2025 Thunderbird featuring "FORDD" on the back of the car) but the font style is not consistent with Ford's brand. Another issue with the AI image above is the extremely shiny surface of the car with an excessive amount of reflections. The most common issue with AI images of cars, however, are the incorrect or missing details. In the image above, the texture of the grille is quite strange, the spokes of the wheel are bent and coming from the wrong area, and details of the car are blending into each other.  

If you are still unsure if an image of a car is fake or not, check the description of the YouTube video. Expanding the details below the video will reveal a section about how the content is made. In the video above, it calls the content "synthetic," describing it as "digitally generated." At this time, drifting in the Ford Focus RS is still a distant memory.