New Fiesta rally car shown
New Fiesta rally car shown
Ford's new challenger for the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, the all-new Fiesta RS World Rally Car, has made its first global public appearance at the Paris Motor Show.
The Fiesta RS WRC will make its competition debut in the Rally of Sweden, the opening round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, on 10 - 13 February.
For Paris, the preview model has been finished in a striking blue-and-grey livery, specially developed for the show by Ford of Europe's design team. The new World Rally Car, derived from the best-selling Fiesta road car, is being developed by Ford of Europe and its rally partner M-Sport.
Using the Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car as a base, the car which won the legendary Monte Carlo Rally on its debut last January and other international and national rallies in 2010, Ford of Europe's design team and M-Sport have worked together to fine-tune the styling of the bodywork and aerodynamic package of the new Fiesta to create an exciting replacement for the outgoing Focus RS WRC.
Although detailed changes may be made as the Fiesta RS WRC car continues its development programme through the balance of this year and in time for the commencement of the team's specialised pre-season testing, the final car will share its appearance with Ford's latest road vehicles.
The Fiesta RS WRC competition car will form part of a new era for the world championship. The car will boast four-wheel drive transmission and a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, to comply with new regulations.
"The introduction of Ford's latest engine technology to its rally programme reinforces further our commitment to motorsport," said Mike Norton, Ford of Europe's Motorsport Manager. "It also demonstrates our continued support for affordable competition by using an off-the-shelf production engine on which to base our WRC power plant."
Specialist engineers from Ford and M-Sport have co-operated closely in the development of this 1.6-litre engine, with highly-respected French tuner Pipo Moteur bringing additional expertise to the project.
The car's appearance at the Paris Motor Show precedes its first major test programme with the full 2011 engine specification on gravel roads in Spain next week. The car has already completed almost 3000 kilometres of testing in Britain and France, powered initially by the current WRC engine and more recently by a prototype 1.6-litre turbo unit.
The test will provide the first opportunity for factory team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and team-mates Jari- Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila to drive the new Fiesta.
Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe's Motorsport chief, has overseen the development programme throughout 2010.
"We're delighted to preview the car in such a prominent motor show as Paris," he said. "There are significant visual differences from the S2000 base car as well as major changes under the skin. The biggest, of course, is the 1.6-litre turbo engine - the original version of which was developed by Ford's Powertrain Engineering team."
M-Sport managing director and Ford Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson is equally enthusiastic about the new car.
"This is a thrilling time for everyone involved in the car's development," Wilson said. "Countless hours have gone into the car to reach this point, and for it to be unveiled in public for the first time is a proud moment for us. We are right on track with our development and the team is delighted with testing to date. Another major step forward will be taken at the start of October when the car tests in full 2011 technical specification for the first time.
"We will have a test car running under the guidance of our technical director, Christian Loriaux. Mikko and Jari-Matti lead our challenge with the new car in the 2011 WRC, so their feedback from the testing is critical, and will provide valuable data for our engineering team to work with," added Wilson.
The Fiesta RS WRC will replace the record-breaking Focus as Ford's championship challenger. The Focus won back-to-back manufacturers' world titles in 2006 and 2007, and its victory in New Zealand in May was the marque's 75th at WRC level, making Ford the most successful manufacturer in world championship history.
Ford has sold more than one million of the latest generation Fiesta road cars around the world since it went on sale in October 2008, and it is the No 2 best-selling car across Europe.
The latest Fiesta has already proved its abilities in motorsport. The Fiesta SportTrophy International series for Fiesta R2 cars is a successful support series to the FIA World Rally Championship and the Fiesta S2000 rally car currently leads the S-WRC support series within the WRC.
American Ken Block has campaigned a Fiesta rally car in the Rally America championship this season, and the car won gold and silver medals in both the Rally Car and Super Rally events at the X Games event in Los Angeles in July.
"The Ford Fiesta has already established itself as a serious contender in a range of global motorsport activities, and we can't wait to debut our official car in the hugely demanding World Rally Championship next year," said Quinn. "We've worked hard to ensure the car is undoubtedly related to the road car. Ford's design and product development teams have worked closely and efficiently with our partners at M-Sport whose enormous expertise is key to delivering not just a highly competitive rally car, but also a car that is both stylish and recognisable."
