Ford will begin rolling out its 1.0-liter, three-cylinder Ecoboost engine this year in overseas models like the UK-spec Ford Focus and C-Max. Replacing the naturally-aspirated 1.6-liter four-cylinder, the little Ecoboost lump translates its minimal displacement into versions with 99 horses and 118 horses, and up to 125 pound-feet of torque. A report in Autocar suggests Ford can do even better, speculating that The Blue Oval is currently testing a unit outputting 177 hp.

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The supplemental power would come from another turbocharger in a production guise, but for testing purposes comes from a supercharger feeding a turbo taken from Ford’s 1.6-liter, four-cylinder Ecoboost. A hi-po option would be slated some kind of “performance version of the Focus positioned some distance below the forthcoming 247bhp Focus ST.”

Or, if Ford could really get that output to work for production the engine could be an option for the Fiesta ST. Shown off last year, the hotted-up Fiesta was paired with a 180-hp, 177-lb-ft version of the 1.6-liter Ecoboost. Granted, this is all hypothetical, but even with the loss of a noticeable chunk of torque the idea might have its merits.
autoblog