It’s pretty rare for an automaker to announce specific details for a concept car, which made Ford’s 43 mpg claim for its Lincoln C Concept really stand out. However, that claim could be based in reality, as the C Concept’s drivetrain is expected to surface in the next-generation Ford Focus.

The Lincoln C Concept is powered by a 180 horsepower 1.6L EcoBoost four-cylinder, which is likely earmarked for use in the next-gen Focus. In tandem with the concept’s six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, Ford says the powertrain is capable of 43 mpg on the highway.

The current Ford Focus is capable of 35 mpg on the highway, meaning the new powertrain would improve the car’s mileage by a hefty 23 percent, according to Automotive News.

However, don’t expect the 1.6L EcoBoost to be standard equipment for the next Focus. The small but might four-pot would likely be reserved for a performance or premium model. No word if the EcoBoost option will be available from launch, but the all-new global Focus is expected to hit the U.S. market in late 2010.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford is preparing to sell an electric car developed almost entirely by an outside supplier. While that may cut down on bragging rights - General Motors created the Chevy Volt in-house - Ford says it also cut down on costs and risk.

In other words, why invent the electric wheel when somebody else can do it for you?

Meanwhile, Ford's partner, auto supplier Magna International, is offering to do for other carmakers what it's done for Ford, and possibly more. If you're a carmaker and you want to sell an electric car, Magna says it's ready to design it and build it for you.

The electric Ford Focus, due out in early 2011, is largely the product of Canada-based auto parts and assembly supplier Magna International (MGA). Magna developed the car mostly on its own, building it inside a Ford Focus body for demonstration purposes.

Adding up the miles

Unlike the Volt, Ford's electric Focus will not be a "range extended car." In other words, it won't have an on-board gasoline-powered generator to pump out more electricity for longer drives.

The Focus will not burn gasoline and will go about 100 miles on a charge. Before hitting the road again, drivers will have to wait to recharge.

Meanwhile, the Volt will only go 40 miles before needing to burn gasoline - still farther than most people drive in a typical day, GM says - but it will have a 300 mile total range.

In August, 2008, Magna presented its electric car to Ford engineers and executives.

"We took a look at that execution and said, 'Hey, together we can really make this a proposition," said Nancy Gioia, Ford's Director of Sustainable Mobility.

Five months later, in January, 2009, Ford (F, Fortune 500) announced its intention to produce the car at the Detroit Auto Show.

Ford had been discussing electric vehicle requirements, in general, with Magna for more than two years, Gioia said, but that was the first time anyone outside of Magna had seen the car.

It was after the August meeting that Ford became seriously involved in the project, providing details and feedback to help make the car feasible for production and to make sure it was the sort of car Ford wanted to sell.

A leg up in electric driving

Magna, a wide-ranging auto industry supplier - it even has a European subsidiary, Magna Steyr, that builds vehicles for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, GM and Chrysler in an Austrian factory - has expressed interest before in designing, engineering and building an entire car.

Electric car closer to market

In this case, Magna founder and chairman Frank Stronach asked his engineers to develop an electric car that could be sold under any brand by any carmaker, said Ted Robertson, Magna's chief technical officer for the Americas.

"It's a generic system we were designing so it could be put into anybody's vehicle," Robertson said.

The Focus wasn't chosen because Magna wanted Ford as a customer, Robertson insisted. It was chosen simply because it was the right size, it was light and its design - particularly the suspension design - allowed engineers to experiment with different layouts for the car's electric drive systems.

"We needed to develop the parts not only in the computer, but we needed to build a vehicle to do a proof of concept," he said.

The car drives just like a gasoline-powered Focus, said Bill Pochiluk, an industry analyst with Automotive Compass. The electric Focus's 100-mile range will do just fine most of the time.

"This vehicles makes you wonder: why do we need the Volt?" said Pochiluk.

Ford could have developed an electric car on their own, but Magna's work allowed the carmaker to bypass a lot of expensive engineering and development work, Pochiluk said.

"This certainly leapfrogged a lot of what Ford had been thinking," he said.

Ford, in fact, would have developed some sort of an electric car on its own had Magna not come forward, Gioia said.

The electric Focus will go on sale in early 2011 and it will be based on the next-generation Ford Focus small car. By then, it should be Ford's second electric vehicle. The first will be a small electric work van that's scheduled to go on sale next year. Ford also partnered with an outside supplier, Britain's Smith Electric vehicles, to make the van.

Magna's agreement with Ford isn't exclusive. Magna plans to sell the system to other carmakers besides Ford and, said Gioia, Ford has no problem with that.

"In fact, we encourage it," she said. "We want Magna to be successful."

For Ford, the strategy is similar to the approach taken with the carmakers' popular Sync in-car entertainment system. That system, which Ford credits with boosting sales of its current Focus compact car, was developed in partnership with Microsoft and the software giant retains the right to sell it to other automakers.

If Ford had insisted on exclusive rights to use these systems, Microsoft and Magna would have had to charge much higher fees to cover their costs. That would have erased the financial benefit of having an outside company develop the systems.

In this case, Magna is even developing its own car body in case a a customer doesn't have one to use. And Magna can even produce the car in its factory, if a carmaker wants, said Robertson.

"If a car company doesn't have an electric vehicle and they want one," he said, "we'd be happy to do one for them.

Meet the most desirable family car ever! This striking machine is about to rewrite the hatchback rulebook, with a stunning combination of head-turning looks, driver appeal and up-to-the-minute technology. Say hello to Ford’s next-generation Focus.

Set to go on sale in 2010, the third generation of the family car will take the company’s brand values to the next level. It gets a dramatic new look that’s backed up by a range of hi-tech small- capacity turbocharged engines.

Ford gave the strongest hint of how its upcoming models will look when it revealed the Iosis Max at the Geneva Motor Show last month (see Issue 1,053). And it’s from this car that the new Focus takes much of its styling inspiration.

The hatch gets a sleek new front end, with a large lower grille and elongated headlights. Bold lines run from the edges of the grille to the A-pillars.

At the rear, there are further nods to the Iosis MAX, with a high tail, angular C-pillars and eye-catching lights. Chunky wheelarches and short
overhangs finish the look and give the newcomer a muscular stance. According to insiders, a panoramic glass roof will also be available. Inside, expect a toned-down version of the concept’s striking cabin, with a new centre console boasting an improved version of Ford’s Human Machine Interface control system. Options will include a reversing camera.

Under the skin is a fresh development of the current car’s chassis, so it’s unlikely the new model will grow much in size. Emphasis will be put on ride and refinement, without sacrificing the sharp steering and driver appeal for which the Focus has become famous.

New turbocharged EcoBoost engines dominate the line-up. Entry-level models will come with a 1.0-litre four-cylinder turbo unit offering 89bhp or 108bhp, but most variants will get a new 1.6-litre turbo, available with 148bhp or 178bhp outputs.

These units will combine storming pace with low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions to give buyers the best of both worlds. There is also a new range of diesels in the shape of a 1.6 TDCi, delivering up to 128bhp, and a flagship 2.0-litre with 168bhp or 197bhp.

All engines are mated to manual boxes as standard, but Ford will also offer its Powershift twin-clutch transmission. Start-stop technology is set to be rolled out across the range, too.

We reported in Issue 1,054 that Ford bosses were debating when to launch the car. Sources have revealed that it looks as though the Focus and C-MAX compact MPV will be launched simultaneously in 2010.

The models have been developed alongside each other and could be global cars – ie sold in all Ford markets across the world. They would follow in the footsteps of the latest Fiesta, which goes on sale in China later this year, and in the US in 2010.

The Focus will be built at Ford’s plant in Saarlouis, Germany, while the C-MAX, which is to appear as a seven-seater for the first time, will be assembled at Valencia in Spain.

About a month ago WCF published a story about a Ford Focus RS spotted in Michigan. This raised some hopes of Ford taking some RS stock stateside. Further fueling this speculation was an interview done by Automotive News with Ford's director of advanced product creation and global performance, Hermann Salenbauch, in which the man was quoted as saying his company was looking for feedback (about the RS) from media and the public. "How much do they like it? Is it really what they want? We are pretty confident that it is," he said.

Fast forward to now and it appears the wind has changed direction. AutoCar interviewed Jost Capito, the new head of Ford's global performance division. Capito and his team of bean counters reckon the whole exercise of homologating the RS for North American consumption would be too pricey to bear.

"We'd like to," said Capito, "but the base car isn't homologated for North America and that's too costly a job to carry out just for a niche vehicle like the RS."

Again we cannot help but wonder how it is that Ford's best-performing hatchback ever will not be sold on the Blue Oval's home soil. That's a bit like Sony selling the PlayStation console series everywhere else but in Japan.