autoevolution
 

Ford Ka+ Rendered Again: Warm ST Follows the RS

Our logic is this: if Ford never put the Fiesta RS into production, it's not going to happen with the smaller Ka. That's why we considered the previous RS renderings unfounded, and why these have a better chance of being approved by the company top brass.
Ford Ka+ ST 3 photos
Photo: Theophilus Chin
Ford Ka+ STFord Ka+ ST
It's been a couple of weeks since Ford unveiled the all-new Ka+ for the European market. Even though we've been looking at the same design for two years already, as the car has been available in Brazil, it's still very exciting.

You see, the Blue Oval has just admitted publicly that most of its small cars have been done wrong. For example, the EcoSport didn't come with the features most European customers expected and needed a rapid refresh.

So what's different about this new super-small car? Well, it's not that small. While the old Ka measured 3,620mm, this newer model is a massive 3,930mm, or about the size of the Peugeot 208.

That leaves plenty of room for engineers to play and give us the cheap, fun car we all want to thrash around in. In recent years, the popularity of such motors has declined steadily. Renault doesn't make the frisky Twingo RS, which was a hoot to drive. But Ford is ideally placed to cater to our needs.

For example, the 1-liter EcoBoost engine would be perfect for the project. We know that it doesn't sound like much, but the 140 hp version has more thrills per cylinder than you would expect.

The only other engine available for the Ka+ project would be the 1.5 EcoBoost. It's available on the Focus and other compacts, where it does the same job the 1.6 used to. However, we just don't see them using the same type of engine as in the bigger and extremely popular Fiesta ST.

We almost forgot to mention all the hard work Theophilus Chin did. His Ford Ka+ ST renderings seamlessly blend elements from the Fiesta. These include the trademark exhaust to one side, 5-spoke wheels in a dark color and a black honeycomb grille.

Of course, a cash-strapped car company is never going to approve another costly hot hatch project... unless the fans demand it. So share the Ka+ ST on Pinterest, Facebook or forums.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories