Geneva show: Ford tunes up Fiesta ST200

FORD has unwrapped a faster, more powerful version of its Fiesta ST pocket rocket at the Geneva motor show, but it's chances of making it to Australia are uncertain.

The ST200 boosts power in the 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol engine by about 10 per cent over the standard ST from 134kW to 147kW, while torque rises by 20 per cent from 240Nm to 290Nm, making it the most powerful production Fiesta to date.

That boost is enough to ensure the cheeky hatch can race from zero to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds, which is a 0.3s improvement over the ST, while the top speed is 230km/h.

The performance figures line up well against the ST200's main competition, including the 153kW/300Nm Peugeot 208 GTi that races to 100km/h in 6.8s, the 147kW/240Nm Renault Clio RS200 with a 6.7s 0-100km/h time and the 141kW/320Nm Volkswagen Polo GTI that gets to the same speed in 6.4s.

A statement from Ford Australia gave little away about the car-maker's intentions for the spicy hatch Down Under.

“As part of our leading local investment, we are focused on our expanded performance vehicle line-up – Mustang, Falcon Sprint, Fiesta ST, Focus ST and the soon-to-be-released Focus RS – and cannot discuss future products.”Late last month Ford Australia announced a pair of performance packages for its Focus and Fiesta ST variants, developed in conjunction with United Kingdom-based tuning company Mountune.

The Fiesta ST kit features an aluminium high-flow airbox, a high-flow panel air filter, a lower air feed hose, an engine tune, Mountune performance badging and an mTune handset for performance calibration, and lifts peak power from 134kW to 158kW at 6000rpm and peak torque from 240Nm to 320Nm at 3000rpm.

Other tweaks under the skin include a transient overboost function that can deliver an extra 11kW and 30Nm for up to 15 seconds for a quick blast. It also features a 4.06 ratio final drive, shortened from 3.82 in the standard ST, for improved in-gear acceleration and driveability.

Unique to the ST200 is the Storm Grey exterior colour, machined matte black 17-inch alloy wheels and red brake callipers.

Inside, there are unique part-leather charcoal Recaro front seats with contrasting silver stitching, seatbelts with silver detailing and illuminated scuff plates.

Carried over from the standard ST hot hatch is a modified front steering knuckle, Torque Vectoring Control with a three-mode Electronic Stability Control system, an adapted rear twist-beam with increased roll stiffness, unique front and rear dampers, a 15mm lower centre of gravity, sharper steering ratio and an enhanced braking system.

Ford of Europe vice-president for product development Joe Bakaj said the Fiesta ST200 has the potential to become a classic.

“The Fiesta ST is truly beloved by owners and critics. The ST200 takes this special drivers’ car to a new level of power and performance,” he said. “I think it’s a future classic in the making.”Also on the Ford stand at Geneva will be the facelifted version of the Kuga mid-size SUV and the road-going version of the Ford GT that was revealed at last year's Detroit motor show.