The North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI (aka Detroit Auto Show) is just over a month away. This is the stage where the Big Three show off their biggest and most important new concepts and key vehicles make their big debuts. Ford always has a huge presence at this show, according to Road and Track, it looks like for 2015 they’ll be focusing on performance.

Raptor

We’ve heard nothing from Ford about a next generation Raptor based on the 2015 F-150 platform. We’ve seen speculation that the popular package will be reborn utilizing Ford’s all new pickup platform, and wearing aluminum skin. We’ve also heard a lot of rumors that the Raptor will receive EcoBoost power since the 6.2 liter engine is no longer an option for the F-150. Expect to see the next gen Raptor climbing up the stage in Cobo hall.

GT350R

We recently reported on rumors swirling of a GT350R variant to make its debut at the Detroit Auto Show. Think of this as a present day version of the former Cobra R. The cars may be street legal, but will likely drop a lot of weight, creature comfort options, and possibly bring more power to the game. We expect the R version to also carry a heftier price tag.

Focus RS

The rumored 300 hp Focus RS should be coming to the USA for the first time ever. There’s still much speculation as to whether the car will debut at Detroit or over in Europe at the Geneva show. Given that Michigan is home to the blue oval, we think it fitting that the car would bow at this show as well.

No word yet on when the RS would go on sale, but expect it to be powered by the 2.3 EcoBoost from the Mustang, and feature torque-steer inducing power.

ST cars

The USA debut of the refreshed Focus and Fiesta ST cars is also on the plate for Detroit. Expect Ford to show off the cars that debuted in the UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last summer.

999

There has been much speculation that Ford is consolidating all of its global performance brands under one name. The rumor is that the name of this organization will be 999 and will fold in America’s SVT, Europe’s RS, Australia’s FPV, and other tuning arms from around the globe. If this happens it will kick off a new era in Ford performance.

Ford GT

Rumors have swirled since the GT bowed out in 2006 that the badge would return. We were even treated to a few concepts in years gone by. However, the height of the last version of this historic name won’t meet current new car crash standards. Ford may be looking again, to build a halo car, nearly a decade after their last one. The rumor is Ford wants to go LeMans racing, and will build a road going version of their racer to sell to the public.

Could a new Ford GT look like the Galpin Auto Sport GTR1?

The last GT engine program helped to spawn the GT500. The two cars shared cylinder heads, and several other engine components. We would speculate that a pumped up version of the GT350’s Flat Plane crank engine, could make for a very exciting rear engined sports car. This car would headline Ford’s stage in Detroit, and be the centerpiece of the company’s performance division for the next decade.

It looks like Ford could steal the show in Detroit next month, of all these cars we’d like to see the GT350R and a predecessor to the GT. We’ll be watching closely to see what Ford shows off and starts to wind up or preview in the weeks ahead.