Ford can quite easily build an all-wheel-drive version of the next Ford Fiesta, the brand has confirmed, raising the possibility of a hot all-wheel-drive version of the next ST model.
New Ford Fiesta ST to be revealed this Friday
The engineering would be possible because the Fiesta is based on a modified version of the same global small car platform as the Ford Ecosport small SUV, which is sold with a 4x4 version in some markets. “The platform, in general, can take 4x4,” Ford of Europe’s head of vehicle engineering, Joe Bakaj, told Autocar.
He wouldn’t confirm nor deny whether future hot Fiestas would go down the same AWD route as the Ford Focus RS.
The RS, with its ‘drift’ function enabled via active torque vectoring through the rear wheels, has gained plaudits and a mass of positive publicity for Ford, which could prompt it to do something similar for the Fiesta.
The AWD drive platform could also spawn a 4x4 version of the new Active crossover-styled version of the Fiesta, although Bakaj said that was unlikely, given the Active’s sub-EcoSport price point.
Read more: 2017 Ford Fiesta officially revealed - full specs and gallery
Nick Gibbs
