Fiesta ST

Make
Ford
Segment
Hatchback

A few days ago Ford showed off the new Fiesta. Of the four trims it brought to its "Go Further" event in Cologne, Germany, none of them were the ST. There was an ST-lite model, the confusingly named ST-Line, but the real deal wasn't on stage. That's because it's still baking. Dutch outlet AutoRAI spoke to Tyrone Johnson, chief engineer of the Focus RS and the man behind the new Fiesta ST, who confirmed that hot hatch would be revealed in late 2017 as a 2018 model.

Thanks to the magic of Google Translate we now know that production of the next Fiesta ST will begin in January 2018 and that it will stay front-wheel drive. Johnson also revealed that there will be different driving modes available, similar to the modes the Focus RS offers. It doesn't look like the next Party ST will be fed steroids. When asked if the turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder would be carried over Johnson's response was a short and sweet "next question." He also said the ST200 "need not be a new benchmark in terms of power." There's a chance something got lost in the Google Translate sauce, but these answers, despite being translated, seem pretty clear cut to us. The next Fiesta ST won't gain a ton of power.

In fact, it might even pack a smaller engine than its predecessor. Finally, when asked about the prospect of a Fiesta RS, Johnson told AutoRAI to "never say never." Then again, he also mentioned making money which we the Party RS would do.