Ford’s Fiesta ST is one of the best hot hatches around, if not the ultimate one. Its balance of grip, power and adjustability makes it one of the nicest cars, of almost any segment, to pilot. The Blue Oval is not willing to rest on its laurels, however and is seemingly busy planning a hotter, more racy version of this already accomplished little car: the Ford Fiesta RS.
In an interview with www.autoexpress.co.uk, Tyrone Johnson, senior vehicle engineer for Ford Performance said: “The current Fiesta has another two-and-a-half years (to go) before it will be replaced. We’ll update the ST within that period, and after that there could be something else,” hinting at an RS model.
Ford recently teased us with the Focus RS, which will arrive in the second half of the current car’s lifecycle, much like the five-cylinder Focus RS that came before.
While no details were divulged by Johnson, if Ford plans to enter this exclusive club of extreme performance small hatches it will have to come to the party with a minimum of 170 kW to take on the likes of Audi’s S1 (which we’ve driven and you can read about by clicking here) and the Mini Cooper JCW. Autoexpress speculates that the hottest Fiesta to date will have no less than 190 kW on offer and deliver that power via a four-wheel drive system.
A brief chat with one of our Ford insiders states that to keep the price competitive, a four-wheel drivetrain is unlikely to be utilised, but a mechanical limited slip differential and a torque steer-alleviating RevoKnuckle front suspension are more likely to be adopted. Whatever drivetrain Ford engineers plan to use, we are sure that they will set up the Fiesta RS for maximum driving fun…
