Muscular, sporty and inspired by the Fiesta WRC made famous by Mikko Hirvonen and Ken 'Gymkhana' Block, Ford's latest Fiesta ST was unveiled in concept form at the Frankfurt Motor Show just minutes ago.
A new hot hatch baby brother to the Focus ST also starring at the show, the Fiesta ST Concept is not officially a production car yet – but with the success of cars like Volkswagen's Polo GTI and Citroen's DS3 Racing the decision to build the car is a mere formality.
According to Ford's sparse info pack, the Fiesta ST Concept features "a dynamic sports chassis and a high performance powertrain".
Under the bonnet is a turbocharged 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost four which Ford says will pump out around 180ps (132kW) and 240Nm. The Blue Oval wants the car to hit 100km/h from rest in under 7.0 seconds and a top speed exceeding 220km/h is targeted.
Mated to a conventional six-speed manual transmission, the Fiesta ST Concept is forecast to deliver CO2 emissions of less than 140g/km. That equates to a fuel consumption rating around 6.0L/100km.
Says Ford: "A global Fiesta ST would also extend the proud, 35-year history of delivering high performance Fiestas in Europe, including the Fiesta XR2 and XR2i, RS Turbo and the more recent first generation Fiesta ST [XR4 in Australia]."
TeamRS and Ford's director of global performance vehicles and motorsport development, Jost Capito told the Frankfurt crowd: "With the Focus ST and the Fiesta ST, enthusiasts will immediately understand what a Ford ST model promises and what each model shares in terms of balanced performance feel, style and driver features.
"We've developed both vehicles from the same DNA. They are born performers that know how to make drivers smile."
Read all the latest news and reveals from the Frankfurt Motor Show here.