Currently reading: Ford Fiesta ST shelved
Quick supermini won’t see light until 2012 at the earliest

The hot version of Ford’s critically acclaimed Ford Fiesta supermini has been delayed, and may even never make production.

Ford was expected to have a Fiesta ST ready at some point this year, but it has now confirmed that the car will have to wait until the European car market has recovered from its current slump.

“Now is not the right time for a Fiesta ST,” a company source told Autocar.

“We may have a better opportunity to make the ST later on in the car’s life, when Ford’s direct-injection petrol engines are ready and the range would benefit more from the extra interest surrounding such a car. But not until 2012 at the earliest.”

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Car review
Ford Fiesta ST
Can the Fiesta ST be one of the great fast Fords?

The UK's most popular hatchback gets the hot ‘ST’ treatment, and is all the better for it. Little else can match it for the money

Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce PhantomTesla RoadsterAriel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren SennaRenault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.

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