Ford reconsiders Fiesta XR4

THE prospects of a hot Fiesta are gaining ground at Ford, on the back of the overnight success of the Focus XR5.

Ford Australia chief, Tom Gorman, believes there now may be room in the line-up for the 2.0-litre Fiesta ST, if the business case stacks up.

"I would have said this time last year, no because our volume (Fiesta) was so much smaller," he said.

"When you’re doing 300 to 400 a month it’s hard to get excited about something like that.

"But now when you’re talking about 600 to 700 a month it does rear its head as a possibility and particularly when you look at the success of the XR5." Mr Gorman said the economics previously were against adding a hot Fiesta.

"When we had a look at it before the economics were hard but when you come back and look at what you might take on a volume basis it changes," he said.

"We are revisiting that." Ford of Europe builds the Fiesta ST (Sports Technologies), which develops 110kW/190Nm from a 2.0-litre Duratec four-cylinder engine.

This endows the hot hatch to reach 100km/h in eight seconds, on its way to a top speed of more than 220km/h.

As part of the car’s sporty intent it also gains a lowered sports suspension, 17-inch wheels and various exterior adornments.

Mr Gorman said a hot Fiesta would not be a strong seller in the rural market as it would be primarily driven by the metro markets with strong dealer support.

He acknowledged that Ford had looked at the VW’s success with the Golf GTi and subsequently the Polo GTi.

If a hot Fiesta joined the Ford line up it could wear the "XR" moniker, providing a strong sports statement right through the Ford passenger car range.

Since its launch in April, demand for the Focus XR5 has outstripped supply, highlighting the increasing buyer interest in high-performance four-cylinders wearing local badges.

Ford has sold all its allocation and is currently seeking more models out of Germany, where the car is built.

Apart from the XR5, Mr Gorman is keen to expand the Focus brand, possibly adding the Focus Cabrio and TDCi turbo-diesel model.

However, Mr Gorman believes such vehicles must make economic sense before they could be considered for the local market.

"We definitely want to extend the brand," he said.

"The first step of brand extension for us is always to go the performance route and XR5 is a good example, Territory turbo is also great example of that.

"We’re evaluating a lot of other opportunities with Focus. In each case they are not enormous volumes players but as halos they do generate a lot of interest for us." Mr Gorman said Ford had sold out of its planned volume of 40 a month for the XR5 and dealers are reporting an expanding order bank.

Ford is currently negotiating with the factory in Germany to get more cars.

"If we could get more we could sell more, but it is short everywhere in the world," he said.

"The car has been a success in every market it is in."