Ford
has ceased development of the Fiesta RS, claiming that it
was impossible to make a sound business case for the car.
Although demand was likely to be strong in the UK, other
European markets showed insufficient interest in a £17k
Fiesta to make the project financially viable.
The
concept version of the Fiesta RS was shown at the Geneva
Motor Show last March and again at Birmingham in May. Ford
insiders had insisted that the production version was less
than two years away and that it would be powered by a 200bhp
2.0-litre engine.
But
the project has now been canned. Jost Capito, the head of
Ford’s TeamRS performance division, admitted that
the company ‘just can’t get the figures right’.
After losing a rumoured £4500 per car on the image-building
Focus RS, and with Ford still struggling globally, the Fiesta
RS needed to be more than just a ‘halo car’.
‘We
did factor the marketing benefits of an RS model into our
calculations,’ said Capito, ‘but it still wasn’t
enough. TeamRS is a new lifestyle brand and we need to be
able to walk before we can run. I don’t want to be
seen as a man who loses money.’
Even
if the financial climate changes and the RS does become
viable, Capito said ‘it would be at least 18 months
before the car was production ready.’