No-go for Fiesta ST200

It’s official; the hyped-up Ford Fiesta ST200 hot hatch won’t be coming to Australia.

And don’t expect to see its new global parent brand, Ford Performance, being promoted in Australia any time soon either.

Speaking to motoring.com.au at this week’s Focus RS launch, Ford Australia president Graeme Whickman said the ST200 was definitely off the local agenda.

“There is only so much we can handle,” said Whickman. “We have 13 nameplates at the moment and if you think about the derivatives amongst those nameplates it is a very complex activity.

“We have dealers who have to support a vision in our minds of a customer experience that is awesome. Part of that is the level of training and expertise. And so if you continue to proliferate in the showroom you do run up against a challenge called complexity.

“It’s a judgement call. I love all manner of cars. You would be surprised at the things I would love to bring here. But we have to balance that with the customers and whether we can do a good job for the customers.”

The ST200 is the tuned-up brother of the giant-killing Fiesta ST which was judged in 2015 by carsales.com.au as the best performance car under $100,000.

The 200 boosts the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine’s power and torque from 134kW/230Nm to 147kW/290Nm and then adds an extra 11kW and 30Nm courtesy of a 15-second overboost function.

There’s also a shorter final drive ratio that works with the six-speed manual gearbox to help the ST200 accelerate from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds, or 0.2 seconds faster than standard ST. Top speed rises by 10km/h to 230km/h.

Like the Fiesta ST, the ST200 gets a three-mode stability control system, a modified front steering knuckle and a beefed-up rear twist-beam, as well as recalibrated front and rear spring and damper settings, to help lower the centre of gravity by 15mm.

The ST200 also gets shortened steering arms and a quicker steering ratio. To help cope with the extra power, there are larger rear brake discs and a bigger brake master-cylinder.

It’s not all bad news for ST fans looking for a bit more grunt though. The factory-backed $2500 Mountune kit, that boosts outputs to 158kW/320Nm, is available in Australia – although it does miss out on the 200’s chassis upgrades.

Production of the ST200 has been limited to 1000 units, although Whickman said that didn’t play a role in the decision.

“It goes back to the mindset,” said Whickman. “If we were to bring in 100, or 200, we have 200 dealers.”

Like the Focus ST, the Fiesta ST sits at the entry level of the Ford Performance model pyramid. Both are categorised as HP2 vehicles. The Focus RS, the F-150 Raptor that launches in the USA in October and the Mustang Shelby GT models are HP1, while the Le mans-winning GT is alone at the top of the pile in the Elite category.

But that’s only for now, as Ford Performance plans to almost double its model lineup to 12 by 2020.

Ford Performance replaces a group of national blue oval tuning divisions, including SVT in North America, Team RS in Europe and Ford Performance Vehicles in Australia. But Whickman said it would not be directly marketed here.

“There are no plans to suddenly see us on television, in the cinema or in the paper, suddenly talking with a Ford Performance layer because at the end of the day, the products are in high demand and speak for themselves.

“Frankly, having other people talk about how good the products are is a better outcome than for us to pay to say the same thing.

“But we are choosing with our precious dollars to spend on certain parts where we see the most or the biggest opportunities.”