[Rallye] Fiesta RS WRC

[focus_fan]

Communiqué officiel Ford

FORD ON SCHEDULE WITH DEVELOPMENT OF 2011 FIESTA RS WRC AFTER 2000KM TEST PROGRAMME

COLOGNE, 7 July 2010 – The Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car, the company's all-new challenger for the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, successfully completed more than 2000km of testing in the last two weeks.

The car was fitted for the first time with a prototype 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, based on the new Ford EcoBoost road vehicle power plant. The agreement of the engine specification in March was the final major technical decision to be confirmed by the FIA, motorsport's governing body, in advance of the introduction of the WRC's new formula in 2011.

The tests marked a significant step forward in the car's development as the introduction of several key components edged the Fiesta closer to next season.

The car, derived from the best-selling Fiesta road car, is being developed by Ford of Europe and British-based rally partner M-Sport. It is based on the Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car, built to FIA S2000 regulations and which won its debut event, the legendary Monte Carlo Rally, in January this year.

The prototype engine used in the test contained the revised turbocharger that will be mandatory from the start of next season, along with the 2011 engine cylinder block, con rods, pistons and crankshaft. Acknowledged French tuning expert Pipo Moteur is due to finalise the new direct injection cylinder head shortly. The chassis and transmission are also close to being tested in next season's specification.

Testing will continue on asphalt, gravel and rough gravel surfaces in France later this month when the latest engine update will be incorporated and the 2011 electronics will be introduced. The car is due to run in full 2011 specification for the first time in September.

Ford and M-Sport continue to work on details of the car's styling, to ensure that the rally car shares the eye-catching appearance and 'kinetic design' characteristics of Ford's latest road vehicles.

Ford of Europe's motorsport chief Gerard Quinn is delighted with the progress of the Fiesta RS WRC's development. "I have been particularly impressed with the great co-operation between engineers from Ford of Europe and M-Sport. They have worked closely and efficiently to bring us to the exciting stage of development at which we are now at.

"The team has completed a tremendous amount of work on both gravel and asphalt in the last few weeks. Despite the delays earlier this year in the confirmation of the technical regulations for the engine, we are exactly on schedule with our development programme and that is a tribute to the efforts put in by everyone involved," he added.

M-Sport managing director and BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson was equally enthusiastic about progress. "To hear the positive comments from the drivers during testing was fantastic. All the hard work during the design and development process begins to bear fruit when the drivers get behind the wheel.

"We will continue to steadily introduce 2011 components as our testing programme goes on. We still have much to do before the car's WRC debut in Sweden next February but I'm hugely encouraged by what we have achieved so far," added Wilson.

Sweden's P-G Andersson, who will make his debut for the Stobart M-Sport Ford team in this week's Rally Bulgaria, completed 1100km on asphalt testing the new car, before team-mate Matthew Wilson added a further 1000km on gravel. Malcolm Wilson, a former driver for Ford in the WRC, also took to the wheel for 70km.

"It was a great feeling to get behind the wheel of the car for so long on gravel," said Matthew Wilson. "It was a huge boost for the whole team to drive for 1000km with no major problems and shows that we are making good progress with the car's development. Testing will continue and I'm sure that as we rack up the kilometres, we'll learn more and more about the car."

Ford's 2011 championship car will replace the record-breaking Focus RS World Rally Car. Since its debut in 1999, the Focus has won 43 world rallies, with highlights in 2006 and 2007 when Ford won the manufacturers' world title.

The Focus RS WRC has scored points on an amazing 125 consecutive world rallies, a record dating back to the start of the 2002 season.

Ford has sold more than 830,000 of the hugely-successful, latest generation Fiesta road cars around the world, 730,000 of these in Europe, since it went on sale in October 2008. The Fiesta was the best-selling car across Europe in the first quarter of 2010. Fiesta production for North America recently started in Mexico, with the car now being delivered to dealers and customers across the United States.

[FR]

Forest test

http://twitpic.com/23hxs8
http://twitpic.com/23i1i1

[FR]

Bright future for Ford WRC... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNP8f-NVxsA

Ford Motorsport Manager Gerard Quinn talks about the development of the Fiesta WRC.

[stephuy]

Tests en France la semaine prochaine pour la Fiesta WRC durant 6 jours

http://www.maxrally.com/news/entry/ford ... ench_test/

[focus_fan]

Vidéo des essais de la semaine dernière.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq03N3s8 ... r_embedded

[Enthanal]

Ca a l'air de motricer correctement

[ne0dyme]

La voilà en tenue officielle!

















Et le communiqué de presse:

PARIS SHOW PREVIEW FOR ALL-NEW FORD FIESTA RS WORLD RALLY CAR



Ford's new challenger for the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, the all-new Fiesta RS World Rally Car, made its first global public appearance at the Paris Motor Show today.



The Fiesta RS WRC will make its competition debut in Rally Sweden, the opening round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, on 10 - 13 February.



For Paris, the preview model has been finished in a striking blue and grey livery, specially developed for the show by Ford of Europe's design team. The new World Rally Car, derived from the best-selling Fiesta road car, is being developed by Ford of Europe and its rally partner M-Sport.



Using as a base the Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car, which won the legendary Monte Carlo Rally on its debut last January and other international and national rallies in 2010, Ford of Europe's design team and M-Sport have worked together to fine-tune the styling of the bodywork and aerodynamic package of the new Fiesta to create an exciting replacement for the outgoing Focus RS WRC.



Although detailed changes may be made as the Fiesta RS WRC car continues its development programme through the balance of this year and in time for the commencement of the team's specialised pre-season testing, the final car will share the eye-catching appearance and acclaimed 'kinetic design' styling cues synonymous with Ford's latest road vehicles. The interior will also be instantly recognisable as a Fiesta RS WRC rally car as it contains a number of production parts.



A new era for the World Rally Championship

The Fiesta RS WRC competition car will form part of a new era for the world championship. The Fiesta rally car will boast four-wheel drive transmission and a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, based on the all-new Ford EcoBoost engine family, to comply with new regulations.

The new Ford EcoBoost engine family features direct petrol injection and turbocharging to maximise performance and efficiency. "The introduction of Ford's latest engine technology to its rally programme reinforces further our commitment to motorsport. It also demonstrates our continued support for affordable competition by using an off-the-shelf production engine on which to base our WRC power plant," said Mike Norton, Ford of Europe's Motorsport Manager.



Specialist engineers from Ford and M-Sport have co-operated closely in the development of this 1.6-litre engine, with highly-respected French tuner Pipo Moteur bringing additional expertise to the power plant.



The Fiesta RS WRC appearance at the Paris Motor Show precedes the car's first major test programme with the full 2011 engine specification on gravel roads in Spain next week. The car has already completed almost 3000 kilometres of testing in Britain and France, powered initially by the current WRC engine and more recently by a prototype 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost turbo unit.



The test will provide the first opportunity for BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila to drive the new Fiesta RS WRC.



Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe's Motorsport chief, has overseen the Ford development programme throughout 2010 and says: "We're delighted to preview the Ford Fiesta RS WRC in such a prominent Motor Show as Paris. There are significant visual differences from the Fiesta S2000 base car as well as major changes under the skin. The biggest, of course, is the 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost turbo engine - the original version of which was developed by Ford's Powertrain Engineering team."



M-Sport managing director and BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson is equally enthusiastic about the new car.



"This is a thrilling time for everyone involved in the car's development," Wilson affirms. "Countless hours have gone into the Fiesta RS WRC to reach this point, and for the car to be unveiled in public for the first time is a proud moment for us. We are right on track with our development and the team is delighted with testing to date. Another major step forward will be taken at the start of October when the car tests in full 2011 technical specification for the first time.



"We will have a test car running under the guidance of our technical director, Christian Loriaux. Mikko and Jari-Matti lead our challenge with the new car in the 2011 WRC, so their feedback from the testing is critical, and will provide valuable data for our engineering team to work with," added Wilson.



The Fiesta RS WRC will replace the record-breaking Focus RS WRC as Ford's championship challenger. The Focus RS WRC won back-to-back manufacturers' world titles in 2006 and 2007, and its victory in New Zealand in May was the Blue Oval's 75th at WRC level, making Ford the most successful manufacturer in world championship history.



Ford has sold more than one million of the hugely-successful, latest generation Fiesta road cars around the world since it went on sale in October 2008. Fiesta, Ford's truly global car, is the No 2 best-selling car across Europe.



Also, the latest Fiesta has already proved its abilities in motorsport. The Fiesta SportTrophy International for Fiesta R2 cars is a successful support series to the FIA World Rally Championship and the Fiesta S2000 rally car currently leads the S-WRC support series within the WRC.



American sports icon Ken Block has campaigned a Fiesta rally car in the Rally America championship this season, and the car won gold and silver medals in both the Rally Car and Super Rally events at the X Games event in Los Angeles in July.



"The Ford Fiesta has already established itself as a serious contender in a range of global motorsport activities, and we can't wait to debut our official car in the hugely demanding World Rally Championship next year," said Gerard Quinn.



"We've worked hard to ensure the car is undoubtedly related to the best-selling Fiesta road car which itself is a global success story. Ford's design and product development teams have worked closely and efficiently with our partners at M-Sport whose enormous expertise is key to delivering not just a highly competitive rally car, but also a car that is both stylish and recognisably a Ford Fiesta," he added.

http://media.ford.com/article_display.c ... e_id=33323

[jim mk1]

j'addore !!!

[math74]

moi aussi, mais a part l'aileron y'a pas grand changement, mais elle a de la gueule, avec la déco officielle ca va etre superbe

[puss_in_boots]

yeah la classe,

avec moteur préparé par Pipo

[stephuy]

[Kakihara]

c'est ca que conduiront les pilotes WRC officiels ? j'éspère que non très très moyen la déco...c'est loin de la DS3 et pauvre comparé a la focus WRC
le coté ca va mais le capot est franchement dégeu
quand meme c'est pas très recherché, des blocs collés a gauche a droite on dirait moi qui fait une peinture dans forza3

[ne0dyme]

A mon avis je pense pas. Pour le WRC, Ford devrait toujours avoir ses sponsors habituels.

La Focus WRC06 avait été présentée avec une déco "de présentation" justement. Je pense que c'est pareil pour la Fiesta.

[stephuy]

La Fiesta aussi avait été présentée sous les couleurs bleue Ford

[ne0dyme]

Oui, mais la Fiesta S2000 n'a jamais été engagée dans l'équipe officielle BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.

Les Fiesta au Monte Carlo étaient engagées par l'équipe M-Sport tout simplement, dixit la liste des engagés: http://www.ircseries.com/html/uploadedF ... ryList.pdf