Ford Fiesta Mark Viii 2017-present
| Eighth generation | |
|---|---|
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| Overview | |
| Production | 2017-present |
| Model years | 2018-present |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 3 and 5 door hatchback |
| Platform | Ford global B-car platform |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
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| Transmission |
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| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,493 mm (98.1 in) |
| Length | 4,040 mm (159 in) |
| Width | 1,734 mm (68.3 in) (w/o mirrors) |
| Height | 1,483 mm (58.4 in) |
On November 29, 2016, the Mark VII was announced in Germany, being bigger, roomier, safer, more efficient and more upmarket.
The Fiesta sub-brand will expand to include new additions - a compact crossover, called the Fiesta Active, and the luxury Fiesta Vignale.
Fiesta ST (2018-present)
On February 24, 2017, the Mark VII Fiesta ST was announced, it will feature an all-new 200 PS 3 cylinder 1.5 Ecoboost engine with cylinder deactivation technology.
Commercial variants
All six generations of the Fiesta have been available in sedan delivery/panel van format, although not in all markets. The Mark I, II and III versions feature the standard 3 door bodyshell with the rear side glass replaced by body coloured metal and a flat floorpan instead of the rear seats.
In 1991, a "high-cube" style van based on the Mark III front bodyshell but with longer wheelbase and Renault-derived rear torsion bar suspension was introduced and was named the Ford Courier. The Courier continued in the Mark IV style through until 2002, when it was replaced by the Ford Transit Connect.
For the Mark V, the standard Fiestavan version was based on the 3-door bodyshell rather than the taller 5-door version. The Mark VI Fiesta van was first introduced in the European market in mid-2009, a year after the original launch.
Motorsport
Rallying
Two Ford Fiestas starred in the 1979 Monte Carlo Rally — the British entry driven by Roger Clark and aided by co-driver Jim Porter, and a German entry piloted by Ari Vatanen and co-driven by David Richards.
Both cars were highly modified with special motorsport components throughout and featured pioneering Limited-slip differential (LSD) technology. The cars were powered by competition tuned versions of the 1,600 cc Kent crossflow engine — a later version of which appeared in the Mk 1 Fiesta XR2.
The two rally cars performed well in the arduous ice and snow that year. Roger Clark did not set any records but the German car achieved 9th position overall — a very encouraging result which sparked demand for sportier Fiestas.
Since this there have been sporting and "hot hatch" editions. Versions include Supersport, XR2, S(Sport), XR2i, Si, RS Turbo, RS1800, Zetec S, Zetec RS, and ST. All of these were powered by a range of engines from the Ford Kent engine to the Ford Duratec engine.
The Ford RallyeConcept in 2002 and Fiesta JWRC. Ford RallyeConcept has been realised through an intensely close collaboration between Ford RallyeSport, the motorsport experts behind the Puma Super 1600 and the Focus WRC rally cars, and Ford Design Europe, the creative team responsible for the new three-door Fiesta on which the RallyeConcept is based. Ford RallyeConcept's marriage of the motorsport engineer's objective for performance functionality with the eye for detail of the designer has been so effective that Ford has committed to an engineering development programme to bring a Fiesta-based rally car to reality. Aiming for FIA homologation by mid-2003, Ford RallyeSport is hoping that it will become Ford's next success story in national and international rallying. Fiesta Super 1600 debut Rally Greece 2004.
The "Fiesta Sporting Trophy" is a One Make Championship; beginning its 1st season in March 2006. It combines keen competition with equal performance and leaves the decision about winning or losing to the drivers and co-drivers capabilities. The driver, co-driver and mechanics work as a team to compete against the toughest adversary of all—the clock.
The Fiesta Sporting Trophy will be based around the Fiesta ST Group N car. The car has 165 PS (121 kW; 163 bhp) from the 2 L Duratec ST engine which when combined with the conversion kit from M-Sport, has been designed to provide all of the safety equipment and performance upgrades to enable the car to be competitive and reliable at any event around the world.
In March 2007, the Pirtek Rally Team introduced the Ford Fiesta Super 2000 rally car, which will compete in the Australian Rally Championship.
On November 18, 2009, Ford with M-Sport unveiled the Ford Fiesta S2000 Mark VI. Although not due for homologation until January 2010 it is set to make its debut as course car on the final round of the IRC series, Rally Scotland. The car had been built to compete mainly in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship. In 2013, M-Sport developed the Ford Fiesta R5, the successor of the Fiesta S2000; this was based on the 1.6 litre Fiesta ST, and was designed for the Group R5 class of rallying. Fiesta R5 got Evo update in early 2016.
With new WRC regulations coming in 2011, M-Sport developed the Fiesta RS WRC, based on Fiesta S2000. It won six WRC rounds in 2011 and 2012, driven by Jari-Matti Latvala, Mikko Hirvonen and Mads Ostberg, but since M-Sport lost most of its manufacturer support for the 2013 season the car hasn't been able to win. In 2013, Thierry Neuville was the world championship runner-up, being a M-Sport junior works driver. Fiesta RS WRC has been very popular among private drivers, due to its good driveability, reasonable price and good availability.
The WRC regulations will be altered for 2017 and M-Sport has thus started developing the Mk7 Fiesta World Rally Car.
Fiesta ST Group N specifications
| Engine | 1,999 cc (122.0 cu in) Duratec engine. Four cylinders in line, DOHC, 16 valves, alloy cylinder head and block. Electronic multipoint fuel injection. |
|---|---|
| Power | 165 PS (121 kW; 163 bhp) at 5,800 rpm |
| Torque | 202 N·m (149 lb·ft) at 4,500 rpm |
| Transmission | Five-speed 'dog' engagement gearkit fitted to standard ST road car casing. Upgraded driveshafts fitted as standard. Plated LSD. |
| Suspension | Upgraded suspension of ST road car includes revised front knuckles and strengthened twist beam rear axle. Reiger dampers, adjustable for rebound, and revised spring rates. Uprated suspension bushes. |
| Brakes | Standard ST road car front and rear disc brakes. |
| Wheels | Gravel: 15-inch OZ Racing wheels
Asphalt: 17-inch OZ Racing wheels Wheels manufactured in both Super T and Rally Racing style. |
| Bodyshell | Multipoint roll cage designed by M-Sport, complying with FIA regulations. Includes three X braces in rear and twin tube door bars with no cross-over. |
| Electronics | 'Piggy back' loom supplements standard loom. Includes electronic circuit breaker and wiring for additional requirements. |
| Fuel tank | Standard 45 L (9.9 imp gal; 12 U.S. gal) tank with Kevlar composite moulded guard. |
| Dimensions | Length: 3,921 mm (154.4 in). Width: 1,683 mm (66.3 in). Height: 1,468 mm (57.8 in). Wheelbase: 2,486 mm (97.9 in). |
Rallycross
The Fiesta Rallycross Supercars version is a racecar with a 2.0 L Duratec turbocharged four-cylinder engine, running on petrol or E85 (85% ethanol/15% petrol). It produces over 550 bhp (410 kW; 560 PS) and 820 N·m (600 lb·ft). That propels the 2,600 lb (1,200 kg) rallycross-prepped Fiesta up to sixty in 2.2 seconds. The cars were more powerful (another 200bhp) than WRC cars.
The Fiesta Mk6 Rallycross cars made their US debuts in the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado. Swedish team Olsbergs MSE announced the cars would later appear in ESPN's X Games 15 on 2009-08-02. The two Olsbergs MSE Fiesta Mk7 Rallycross cars were based on the Fiesta hatchback model road cars, one with 3 doors, the other one a 5-doors version, but with all-wheel drive, powered by 2.0 L Duratec Ford engines capable of more than 800 bhp (600 kW) (for PPIHC only).
British company M-Sport also builds Fiesta Rallycross Supercars to Global Rallycross Championship teams Hoonigan Racing Division, Chip Ganassi Racing and Bryan Herta Autosport.
Driving a Fiesta, Tanner Foust won the 2011 and 2012 Global RallyCross Championship and was runner-up in the 2011 and 2012 FIA European Rallycross Championship. Toomas Heikkinen won the Global RallyCross Championship in 2013 and Joni Wiman and 2014. Other notable drivers include Marcus Grönholm, Ken Block and Brian Deegan.
Circuit racing
In the UK, the Fiesta is commonly used in club level motorsport series but has its national one-make series called the Ford Fiesta Championship. During its peak in the 1980s and 1990s, it had manufacturer support and it even was a support race to the British Grand Prix and numerous British Touring Car Championship rounds. The series has gone through numerous name changes including Ford Credit Fiesta Championship, Ford Fiesta Zetec Championship and BRSCC Ford Si Challenge and is nowadays run by the BRSCC (British Racing and Sports Car Club) as a club racing championship. The organisation also run the other series that consists of Fiestas.
- Ford XR Challenge, for XR2 and XR2i models, also consists of the Escort XR models.
- Ford Saloon Championship, mainly for a wider range of Ford models but Fiestas are mostly seen in classes C and E with a Mk 4 example winning the title outright in 2006 at the hands of Ollie Allen.[citation needed]
The car has also been raced in the Touring-Light division of the Russian Touring Car Championship.
Fiesta drivers won the Super 1600 class of the European Touring Car Cup seven times from 2008 to 2016.
Sales and popularity
| Year | UK Sales | US Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 98,221 | |
| 2002 | 93,591 | |
| 2003 | 95,887 | |
| 2004 | 89,295 | |
| 2005 | 83,803 | |
| 2009 | 117,296 | |
| 2010 | 103,013[citation needed] | 23,273 |
| 2011 | 96,112 | 68,574 |
| 2012 | 109,265 | 56,775 |
| 2013 | 121,929 | 71,073 |
| 2014 | 131,254 | 63,192 |
| 2015 | 133,434 | 64,458 |
The Fiesta has been Britain's most popular new car in 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, and each year from 2009 through 2014. By the time of the MK2 Fiesta's demise in early 1989, just under 1,300,000 had been sold in Britain since its launch 12 years earlier. By July 2014, the Fiesta became the UK's best selling car of all time, with 4,115,000 sold.
In the US Ford sold 23,273 Fiestas in 2010.
Awards and recognition
The 2011 Fiesta was one of the five finalists for the 2011 Green Car of the Year awarded by the Green Car Journal in November 2010, competing with two plug-in electric vehicles, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt (the winner), and two hybrid electric vehicles.
- Winner of UK Design Council Efficiency Award for "exemplary contribution to the reduction of running and maintenance costs" in 1978. The award was presented by Prince Philip.
- Winner Australia's Best Small Car in 2004.
- Winner of Business Standard Motoring Jury Award, 2006.
- What Car's Best Used Supermini for 2006 – 1.4 Zetec 3dr 2003 – Runner Up Toyota Yaris 1.0 T2 3dr 2003.
- Winner of Brazilian Auto Esporte magazine Car of the Year in 2005 (Fiesta Sedan).
- Winner of Game Informer magazine Best Racing Games of the Year For Best Car in 2011 (Fiesta Gymkhana Car).
- Named Scottish Car of the Year 2008 at the 11th annual Association of Scottish Motoring Writers (ASMW) awards dinner in St Andrew's, Scotland.
- Named 'Car of the Year 1989' by Britain's What Car? magazine.
- Named 'Car of the Year 2009' by Britain's What Car? magazine.
- Named 'Semperit Irish Small car of the Year' by tyre manufacturer Semperit
- Named 'Car of the Year' and 'Best Supermini' in Auto Express magazine's New Car Awards 2009.
- Fiesta ECOnetic named 'Least boring green car' of 2009 by Top Gear's James May.
- First minicar to achieve Top Safety Pick by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) based on front-, side- and rear-impact crash testing and roof-strength.
- Winner of the 2011 AJAC Car of the year award for Best Small Car under $21,000.
- Named 'Supermini of the Year 2013' by Britain's What Car?
- Named 'Used Car of the Year 2012' by UK's CAP Black Book Car Guide.
- Fiesta ST chosen Top Gear's Car of the Year 2013
- Best Driver’s Car Award – Bloomberg-UTV Autocar India Awards
- Business Standard Motoring Jury Award 2006
- Fiesta ST awarded Winner 'Best Performance Car Under $100k' in 2015 by Carsales during their Car Of The Year in Australia.