RE: Frankfurt: Ford Fiesta ST Concept

RE: Frankfurt: Ford Fiesta ST Concept

Tuesday 13th September 2011

Frankfurt: Ford Fiesta ST Concept

Diminutive hot hatch show car hints at forthcoming Blue Oval rollerskate



Fans of fast Fiestas have been waiting a long time for this: Ford has unveiled a new Fiesta ST Concept at the Frankfurt motor show.

Although officially a concept, the new Fiesta ST "hints at how a future Fiesta ST performance model might look when it joins the Focus ST in the global Ford small car portfolio," says Ford. For which read "yes, we'll most probably make it, but we don't want to make it official just yet..."

This will be the second-generation Fiesta ST, and this time around the car gets a 180bhp, 177lb ft version of Ford's turbocharged 1.6-litre Ecoboost petrol engine, providing a convenient marketing link (sorry - bonafide motorsport connection) with the Fiesta WRC car, which is also powered by a 1.6-litre turbo petrol.

Like the 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine that will power the forthcoming Ford Focus ST, the 1.6-litre EcoBoost in the Fiesta ST Concept also features Twin-independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT).


That should be enough to push the diminutive hot hatch to 62mph in less than seven seconds through a six-speed manual gearbox and on to a top speed of 138mph (in other words bang on target to tackle the likes of the Polo GTi and Fabia vRS).

Visually, the new ST Concept ticks all your usual mini hot hatch cues, including a rear diffuser, twin exhausts and chunky 17-inch wheels, but the bold trapezoidal honeycomb grille and molten orange paint (borrowed from the US Ford SVT F-150 Raptor pick-up) help it to stand out from the crowd.

We must say we're rather looking forward to it - given the regular Fiesta's ability (in Zetec S format at least) to put a smile on a driver's face, an ST version should well be quite a giggle.


Focus ST
Perhaps less exciting (if only because we knew it was coming) was the unveiling of the production version fo the new Ford Focus ST. Powered by a 247bhp, 265lb ft 2.0-litre Ecoboost engine, it will be Ford's first truly global hot hatch, and is set to go on sale in more than 40 countries and across six continents (a Ford dealership has yet to be built in Antarctica).

 



 

Author
Discussion

Oddball RS

Original Poster:

1,757 posts

217 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Shes a looker...........................

sat1983

1,252 posts

183 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
thumbs up!

ktm301p

746 posts

188 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
looks good, except for that massive grill

Escort Si-130

3,269 posts

179 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
As above it looks good, only downside is the massive grill. The plate needs to go in the middle of it. I would have thought they would have made it around 200bhp.

Robmarriott

2,633 posts

157 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Why have they given it a facelift at the same time? It not looks like that POS they're calling the Focus...

The Zetec S is a great looker already, just more power and it would have been spot on.

Do. Not. Want.

mackie1

8,153 posts

232 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Hint of Mustang GT500 in the front grill area. I like it!

thewheelman

2,194 posts

172 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
About time. My girlfriend has a Zetec S, i think the front of the current cars looks better than the wide mouth look though. No doubt my girlfriend will order one asap.

When i see the front of that ST, i can't help thinking of this...

SimonST

7 posts

204 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Meh, ever since I've seen that massive grille on the new Focus ST, i've thought it's out of place, if nothing else. So now they've done it to the Fiesta, I was bored enough just to move a few things around to see how it'd look.



Only a quick 'shop mind, but to me at least, I'd have thought that looks a little less.. dumpy?

Really not a fan of the rear though, looks very aftermarket kit-ish. As said, I think the Zetec-S looks fine as it is, a much more coherent flowing design to the bodywork.

thewheelman

2,194 posts

172 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Escort Si-130 said:
As above it looks good, only downside is the massive grill. The plate needs to go in the middle of it. I would have thought they would have made it around 200bhp.
It leaves room to make a 210 bhp RS model.

Mr Dave

3,233 posts

194 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Wow that looks ugly.

BoostMonkey

569 posts

184 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
I think Ford really could have done soo much more with this car, very dissapointed.

kwak

210 posts

151 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
I think the front looks a bit like the aston cygnet

Streps

2,445 posts

165 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
frown
I really do not like where they are going with the Focus and Fiesta styling.

Edited by Streps on Tuesday 13th September 12:19

r1ch

2,867 posts

195 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Streps said:
frown
I really do not like where they are going with the Focus and Fiesta styling.

Edited by Streps on Tuesday 13th September 12:19
Yeah me neither, too curvy for my liking.

Mrs OwenK

543 posts

160 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
r1ch said:
Yeah me neither, too curvy for my liking.
Me too. The Fiesta looked cracking once I'd gotten used to it and has great subtlety to the lines on the front end. Still not sure about the back end.
This sort of looks like someone just smacked a big grill onto it to fit the "family face".

I much prefer the photoshop above, the "narrow slot upper grill/large trapezoid lower grill" look they've had recently (eg S-Max, not so much Mondeo) works really really well to my eyes.

wab172uk

2,005 posts

226 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Looks too plain for me.

havard01

108 posts

174 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
I'm a big fan of Fast Fords, but this new Fiesta concept looks like it has been severely beaten with the ugly stick and all of its teeth have been knocked out - I do not like it all!

Why do car manufacturers insist on trying to make a car-that-fits all?

Stu R

21,410 posts

214 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
It's a munter. Too high, fat and blobby. It doesn't have a style, just a load of fashionable design cues lumped together in one bloated mess. The side profile looks like the chopped the front off a much nicer car, and clagged it onto an MPV.


thewheelman

2,194 posts

172 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
I hate to say it, but Vauxhall are now making far better looking cars than Ford.

Speed_Demon

2,662 posts

187 months

Tuesday 13th September 2011
quotequote all
Seriously?


SERIOUSLY?!!!!