Remember the Fiesta ST Performance Edition? Course you do; it was a bright orange fast Fiesta with adjustable coilovers, snazzy flow-formed wheels and the ability to give the old Mini GP2 a fright. Limited to just 600 units in the UK, the Performance Edition cost £26,495; for those that missed out on that allocation, though, or for anyone who doesn't like orange, here it is again...
The Fiesta ST Edition, despite a slightly different name, boasts all the equipment that made the Performance version such a riot. As well as Azura Blue paint this time, which may well find more fans than the Deep Orange. As before, there are two-way adjustable coilovers - with 12 bump clicks, and 16 for rebound - with an adjustable ride height as well. As standard the Edition sits 15mm lower than a standard car at the front, and 10mm behind. The springs are painted Ford Performance Blue, of course.
The 18-inch wheels made a difference to the orange car, too, and feature again here; the 10-spoke, flow-formed rims are said to save a couple of kilos in unsprung mass, which helps improve "tyre contact with the road for improved grip and responses". The Quaife limited-slip diff that features in the ST's Performance Pack is also standard fit.
The Edition isn't entirely the same as before, though. As well as the quite obvious paint change, the Edition receives additional black accents outside, carbon trim inside and blue stitching on the distinctive Recaro seats. Perhaps the most significant change is the introduction of a Sport driving mode for the first time in this Fiesta ST, sitting between Normal and Track and selected via the steering wheel mounted button - as on the larger Focus ST. While this won't do anything for the manually adjustable suspension, expect Sport mode to deliver sharper throttle and steering response.
Otherwise this is the Fiesta ST we've come to know and love, with 200hp from its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo and 140mph potential. Ford will make just 500 ST Editions for Europe; it says much about our voracious appetite for hot hatches that 300 of them - or 60 per cent of the allocation - is coming to the UK. Offered only as a three-door, the ST Edition will cost £27,075, or just a few hundred pounds more than the old Performance retailed for. A fair chunk more than even the most expensive ST-3, sure. But still less than that Puma...
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