2011 Ford Fiesta RS WRC Unveiled

Ford had offered as a preview of its WRC challenger at the 2010 Paris Motor Show last September, but that version’s livery was developed specifically for the show by Ford of Europe's design team. Today, the automaker took the wraps off the 2011 Ford Fiesta RS WRC and revealed the official color scheme that will adorn the car in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Ford's official WRC squad for 2011 also confirmed its new name and logo. Specifically, it will compete as the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team. Title partner Abu Dhabi’s distinctive branding will also be heavily featured on the new livery.

The new Fiesta RS WRC is derived from the Fiesta road car and based on the Fiesta S2000 rally car, being developed in collaboration with British-based rally partner M-Sport.

The vehicle boasts a four-wheel drive transmission and a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, based on the new Ford EcoBoost road vehicle power plant, to comply with the new regulations.

"Ford's designers and product development engineers have worked closely and efficiently alongside the expertise of our partners at M-Sport. The aim was, of course, to produce a car capable of challenging for world championship titles, but one which also reflects the much-admired 'kinetic design' styling cues synonymous with Ford's current road vehicles," stated Ford of Europe motorsport chief Gerard Quinn.

The full specification of the car will be released in early February.  Testing will continue in Sweden next week ahead of the Fiesta RS WRC's championship debut in Rally Sweden, the opening round of the series, on February 10-13.