New Ford Fiesta ST to debut in late 2017
The newest Fiesta ST won't enter production until January 2018.
The Ford logo on display at the Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh.
Gene J. Puskar/AP/File
Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] on Tuesday unveiled its redesigned Fiesta but the model we’re most interested in, the new Fiesta ST, is still more than a year away from hitting showrooms.
Speaking with Dutch website AutoRAI, Tyrone Johnson, who heads development of ST and RS models at Ford Performance, revealed that the new Fiesta ST will enter production in January 2018, following an unveiling in late 2017. The new Fiesta’s regular models will enter production in early 2017.
Prototypes for the new Fiesta ST have been spotted in Europe, with engineers benchmarking the car against the current Fiesta ST.
The formula will stay much the same, with a turbocharged inline-4 driving the front wheels. We’re not expecting the car to match the 197 horsepower of the limited edition Fiesta ST200 unveiled in early 2016 but something more than the 180 hp of the current Fiesta ST is likely.
Johnson hinted that those looking for a significant power bump will be disappointed. He did say, however, that the new Fiesta ST will adopt a more aggressive look than the current car to further differentiate it from regular models in the Fiesta lineup. He also said some elements will be borrowed from the Focus RS, hinting at the car’s driving modes selector.
As for the possibility of a Fiesta RS, Johnson said the door was always open for such a car but no approval has been given yet.