Ford Performance Has Started Work On The Next Fiesta And Focus ST For A 2020 Debut

As far as performance car bang-for-buck goes, we’ve always said the Ford Fiesta ST is hard to beat. And while the Focus ST is less polished, it’s also stonking value for money, so we can’t wait to see what these two are replaced by. The good news is, now the Focus RS is ‘out of the way’, Ford Performance has started the development of the ST twin’s successors.

Speaking to Autocar Tyrone Johnson - chief engineer for the Focus RS - confirmed that the ST Fiesta and Focus are next on his ‘to-do’ list post RS. Hopefully that to-do list also involves adding a limited-slip differential to the next Focus ST to make it a little less wayward than the current one.

He declined to give any dates, but with the next generation Fiesta and Focus ranges expected in around 2018, Autocar is speculating a 2020 release for the ST editions.

But how about a Ford Performance Mondeo? Unfortunately that’s not on the cards, according to Johnson: “It’s a pretty big car and the rivals are now offering around 500bhp. I think that’s a big ask for the Mondeo….Making a fast Mondeo fit our HP2 category [the same as the Focus RS] would be very difficult.”