The Fiesta was one of the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars for 12 consecutive years between 2009 and 2020, according to AutoCar. Yet in July 2023, Ford terminated the production of the Fiesta, a line that had sold about 22 million units since its launch in 1976.
It started its lifecycle as a smaller alternative to the Ford Escort, a model the company stopped producing in the early 2000s. So, this supermini, designed in hatchback style, was very simple. In fact, its simplicity certainly endeared it to the public, certifying it a mass favorite purely because of how fun to drive and how easy it was to maintain. In 1979, the Mk1 Fiesta earned Ford an award from the Design Council for being a “detailed and calculated attempt to reduce the maintenance and repair costs.”
Now, don’t go thinking this compact car is a boring everyday car. The Fiesta — especially the “punchy little hot-hatch” ST model and the turbocharged RS WRC version — went on to make a name for itself in the world of motorsport, particularly in rallycross. Sébastien Ogier drove the Fiesta RS WRC to win the World Rally Championship two years in a row, in 2017 and 2018. Over in the Global RallyCross Championship, the Fiesta ST, with the Olsbergs MSE team, clinched the championship titles in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
