The previous Fiesta ST, with its naturally aspirated 2-litre motor, was hardly quick in hot hatch terms. Yet its lively exhaust note, pin-sharp handling and meaty steering allowed you to have fun without going all that fast.
Now we can't vouch for fun factor of the all-new Fiesta ST that you see here in final production guise, given that it will be a while before we get to drive it, but we can tell you that it has the numbers to run with the compact hot hatch pack.
Revealed in Geneva today, and with 132kW to play with, the new ST will take the fight to Mini Cooper S (135kW), Renault Clio RS (148kW), Opel Corsa OPC (141kW) and VW Polo GTI (132kW).
Beneath the Ford's bonnet you'll find the very latest in Ford engine technology, with a 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol motor pushing 132kW and 240Nm. Enough, says Ford, to hurtle it from standstill to 100km/h in under seven seconds to a top speed of 219km/h. These claim professors also say it emits 20 percent less CO2 than the previous model.
The chassis experts have been hard at work on this one, the new ST sitting 15mm lower to the ground and sporting a specially tuned chassis that also boasts Torque Vectoring Control and three Electronic Stability Control modes.
As you can see, the ST's also been beefed up in the visual department, the bigger rubber and spoilers joined by a brand new front bumper that houses a large trapezoidal grille like the one we've seen on the latest Fusion/Mondeo.
Moving inside, the cabin is said to offer a high level of equipment, including the SYNC voice-activated in-car connectivity system, and standard Recaro sports seats.