M-SPORT Fiesta brings WRC to the road

UK-based M-Sport has been associated with Ford product for decades, thanks to its running of the factory Ford World Rally Team.

Once Ford officially pulled out of the World Rally Championship at the end of 2012, M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson OBE took the bold decision to go it alone as a privateer entrant, developing a range of Ford Fiesta rally machines to compete across classes all over the world.

That expertise has now been transferred to a road car, based on the Ford Fiesta ST and developed in conjunction with Permashine.

Unfortunately, the completed package will not be available in Australia, but elements of the significantly modified powertrain will be officially offered here by Ford.

“Following the success of the [Euro] M-Sport Transit it only seemed right to deliver an M-Sport Edition Ford Fiesta," said Wilson.

"I am delighted to announce we have done just that and our first road car project – developed alongside our partners at Permashine – will soon be available."

The resultant M-Sport Edition Fiesta cops a multitude of upgrades, enhancing the aesthetic, but also adding some serious rally-bred hardware underneath the gloss black spoiler and WRC-aping graphics.

Power for the turbocharged 1.6-litre four-pot rises from 134kW to 158kW, with torque of 320Nm — up from 240Nm. Those outputs top the ST’s overboost function, which offers bursts of 147kW/290Nm.

The MP215 power kit is supplied by Mountune, a company that Ford Australia has been working with to provide its upgrades locally.

“This [the M-Sport Edition Fiesta] is a Euro-only offering,” Ford Australia product communications manager Neil McDonald told motoring.com.au.

“Regarding Mountune, we’re continuing to work through the Australian-specific requirements for Mountune accessories for both Fiesta ST and Focus ST, but it is taking longer than anticipated. We are however committed to offering Mountune, but do not have an ETA.”

Optionally available is an M-Sport designed cold air intake with Pipercross filter and a modified exhaust which is custom-built by Chris Tullett Exhausts, the company tasked with building the exhausts for the Fiesta RS WRC.

Beyond the power upgrades, the M-Sport Edition Fiesta gains a Quaife auto torque-biasing limited-slip differential for the IB6 six-speed manual transmission. Light alloy OZ Superturismo LM 17-inch alloys finished in matt graphite are also included.

Hardcore enthusiasts can also option a ‘handling pack’ which includes trick Bilstein inverted monotube strut suspension with Eibach springs and a mammoth Alcon brake package with 332mm discs and Goodridge braided lines.

All M-Sport Edition Fiestas come with embroidered seats featuring the M-Sport logo, a Nappa leather and Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, carbon-fibre gear lever insert and individual carbon-fibre build numbers on the boot, as befitting its limited-edition status.

“It’s a proper hot hatch with a Quaife differential in the gearbox as well as a host of other well thought out options. It looks fantastic and it really does go as well as it looks!” Wilson concluded.