By: IOL Motoring Staff
Geneva Motor Show - Ford is playing catch-up in the cut-throat hot hatch game with a beefier version of its Fiesta ST.
Sadly, this new ST200 is not planned for South Africa at this stage. So what is it that we'll be missing?
For starters, the ST200 boasts a more powerful version of Ford's 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol engine, the '200' referring to its output of 200PS, which equates to 147kW. That's a 13kW gain over the standard version, while torque rises 20 percent from 240Nm to 290Nm. All of that adds up to make it 0.2 seconds quicker from 0-100km/h, with ford claiming a 6.7 second sprint time.
Ford has also improved the cornering and stopping abilities, by modifying the Torque Vectoring Control, front steering knuckle and brake master cylinder as well as increasing the roll stiffness of the rear twist beam axle and giving the ST200 its own unique spring and damper settings - lowering the car by 15mm in the process.
To mark it out on the street, the ST200 gets exclusive machined matt black 17-inch alloys, red brake callipers and a unique Storm Grey exterior. Inside it's set apart by partial-leather Recaro front seats with contrasting silver stitching as well as illuminated scuff plates and some silver detailing on the seatbelts.