GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Ford Fiesta ST200

One of the stars of motoring.com.au's inaugural Australia's Best Driver's Cars competition in 2015, the $25,990 Ford Fiesta ST snaffled an impressive top-five finish against far more fancied opposition.

And although Ford insists a hard-core Fiesta RS isn't happening, the Ford Fiesta ST200 should be ballsy enough to satisfy die-hards wanting more gristle.

Announced the day before the 2016 Geneva show, the front-drive Fiesta ST200 produces 147kW or 200hp, which up 13kW on the standard ST. And thanks to the same engine tweaks it generates 290Nm of torque (up 50Nm).

Even better, like all good turbocharged hot hatches, the ST200's fettled 1.6-litre four-cylinder takes advantages of a turbo overboost mode that spikes power to 158kW and 320Nm.

Combined with a six-speed manual transmission and a shorter final drive ratio , which has been adjusted from 3.82 to 4.06, the Fiesta ST200 is considerably faster, shaving two tenths of a second off the 0-100km/h sprint, which is now a claimed 6.7 seconds.

Ford reckons the ST200 is the "most powerful production Fiesta ever" and its maximum velocity has risen by 10km/h too, to 230km/h.

"The Fiesta ST is truly beloved by owners and critics," said Joe Bakaj, vice-president of product development at Ford of Europe.

"The ST200 takes this special drivers' car to a new level of power and performance. I think it's a future classic in the making."

The car is offered in a special 'Storm Grey' exterior hue, rides on machined matt-black alloy wheels and features some interior upgrades too, such as partial leather charcoal-coloured Recaro front seats with silver stitching. Even the seatbelts feature silver highlights and scarlet illuminated scuff plates add a little razzle-dazzle.

Like the Fiesta ST, the ST200 gets the three-mode stability control system, a modified front steering knuckle, a beefed-up rear twist-beam and recalibrated front and rear spring and damper settings. Ford also says the ST200 features "enhanced torque vectoring".

Thus far Ford has sold 30,000 Fiesta STs in Europe, a third of them in the UK, but at this stage Ford Australia is yet to make an official comment on whether the Fiesta ST200 will be sold here.

Ford Australia has already announced it will offer a factory-backed Mountune upgrade for the Fiesta ST in this country.

Priced at just under $2500, the kit offers almost identical power and torque to the Fiesta ST200 (158kW/320Nm), which could potentially put the kybosh on the ST200's local rollout.