Bringing back vivid memories of the bright orange second-generation Ford Focus ST is the new Ford Performance Edition of the latest Fiesta ST. Resplendent, as you can tell, in Deep Orange.
Limited edition, unlimited appeal?
How do you increase the appeal of what has to be one of the best-loved and most accomplished hot hatches on sale? Well, it’s a limited edition. Just 600 of these Ford Performance Editions are to be made, exclusive to the home of the hot hatch – the UK, of course.
Under the skin
The standard Fiesta ST might be excellent, but it’d be nice if the Ford Performance Edition was a bit more than a lick of paint. Happily, it is, with a Nurburgring-tuned coilover suspension package. Manual adjustment features, with 12 bump and 16 rebound settings you can tune your setup with. It wouldn’t be a Ford without some lurid colour contrast, so yes, the springs are bright blue.
You also get a set of exclusive 18-inch flow formed alloy wheel design on your Ford Performance Edition Fiesta ST, and you know something, it looks properly cool.
Standard features that would otherwise be optional on a normal ST include the Performance Pack (complete with Quaife LSD), launch control, shift lights, the lovely B&O sound system and distinctive LED headlamps.
What price for Ford Performance?
Final pricing is yet to be decided for the Ford Performance Edition, which will go on sale from June 2019. Ford says the standard fitment on this car adds up to around £3,000 of options over the standard ST-3. This could turn out to be a Porsche 911 GTS-style bang-for-your-buck scenario, by the time cars are delivered in September 2019.
For now, we can’t see a thing wrong with a well-specced, upgraded, brightly coloured version of one of the best hot hatches of the moment. Doesn’t sound entirely unlike the original Clio Trophy…
