2017 Ford Fiesta ST officially revealed

The engine also features cylinder deactivation technology, a world first for a three-cylinder engine but increasingly common on bigger engines and used frequently on Volkswagen Group TSI petrol units. The move will help improve fuel efficiency by shutting down one cylinder when full capacity power isn’t needed, such as when cruising with little demand on the engine.

Matthias Tonn, chief programme engineer of the car said: "The new 1.5 Ecoboost engine is the new core, the heart of the car. It's so much more responsive, more agile, than the current car. 

"Efficiency is a big part of this car. The CO2 is down at 114g/km, and it has the same performance. It's a very agile engine also, has great responsiveness, new calibration, a new way to ignite the fuel. The engine is more direct and lively. 

Tonn added: "There is no turbo lag now. We don't even talk about it. You press a button [the throttle] and the car goes. Software calibration and processor speeds are all much quicker. It's fun to drive, and will have a bigger grin on it than the old Fiesta ST."

Fiesta ST offers three new driving modes

A major new addition for the Fiesta ST is the introduction of three drive modes: Normal, Sport and Track.

Normal mode is the default setting, where all systems, including the traction control and electronic stability control (ESC), are configured to give a natural driving feel.

In Sport mode, engine mapping and throttle pedal response are sharpened and there’s more “driving feedback”, says Ford. Sport mode also creates more noise, through Ford’s Electronic Sound Enhancement technology and the opening of the active exhaust noise control valve, both of which heighten the exhaust note and engine noise within the cabin.

In Track mode, Ford says all of the vehicle’s dynamics are tuned for the fastest possible lap times, traction control is disabled and electronic stability control is set to wide-slip mode for circuit driving.

ESC offers drivers a choice of three modes — full system intervention, wide-slip mode with limited intervention and full system deactivation.

The ST’s chassis also uses torque vectoring to improve roadholding and reduce understeer by applying braking force to the inside front wheel when cornering.

Tonn commented: "We have spent a lot of time on the suspension and chassis, and found a new way to set it up."

He added that there has been a lot of work to finesse the sound. "We have the active exhaust from the Mustang. On low rpm, the exhaust valves open. At higher rpm, there's a sound enhancement system that amplifies the sound. This used to be digital sounding, but faster processors now make it sound more alive."

"The benchmark was the old ST, then the ST200 came long. It has been a very good basis for this."