New Ford XR4 Turbo!

[vztrt]

150kw.....

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...526-1f5i9.html

Exposed: New Ford XR4 Turbo
Jez Spinks
May 26, 2011 - 1:06PM



Fiesta hot-hatch spied testing as it prepares to take on Volkswagen's Polo GTI.

Drive spies have snapped the best pictures yet of the baby hot-hatch that will help to swell Ford Australia's range of sporty, XR-badged models.

The next-generation Fiesta ST, which in previous form was called the XR4 locally, has been spotted at Europe's favourite testing track - the Nurburgring in Germany.

Ford's smallest hot-hatch is switching from a normally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder to a smaller, 1.6-litre engine that gains performance through turbocharging.
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The engine is rumoured to produce about 150kW - 36 per cent more power than the old ST/XR4 - with a 0-100km/h sprint time anticipated in the 6.0- to 7.0-second bracket.

Our secret images confirm the fast Fiesta will feature an aggressively designed front end almost identical the 'face' of the new Focus ST due in early 2012 - including the gaping honeycomb-mesh grille, lower air intake and splitter.

The interior is also certain to gain sportier touches than regular Fiestas, and body-hugging Recaro bucket seats can be seen through the windows of the prototype car.

The previous XR4 was one of Australia's cheapest hot-hatches, priced from $24,990, and Ford Australia is likely to want to keep the new model competitive against rivals such as the $28,990 VW Polo GTI and forthcoming, circa-$26,990 Skoda Fabia vRS.

Ford Australia will face a badging conundrum for the new Fiesta and Focus hot-hatch models.

The company's XR naming strategy traditionally identifies different models by their cylinder counts, such as the six-cylinder XR6 and (currently discontinued) V8 XR8 Falcons.

The replacement for the Focus XR5 Turbo, however, is switching from a five-cylinder turbo engine to the same, four-cylinder turbo configuration - albeit with a bigger, 2.0-litre capacity.

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