FIESTA LAVISTA

The ST200 was just one in a long line of feisty Fiestas. As we say goodbye to the breed, this is the legacy it leaves behind

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WHEN FORD ANNOUNCED IT WOULD be ceasing production of the Fiesta it felled one of the oldest family trees in the company's history. Announced in 1975, produced from 1976 and on sale in the UK from 1977, the Fiesta was Ford's first truly small car.

Slotting in below the Escort, the all-new front-wheel-drive hatchback was seen as a risk for the profit-hungry US giant. Forty-seven years and 22 million cars later, it's safe to say the Fiesta repaid that leap of faith by becoming one of the most successful models of all time.

It might have existed to provide Ford with an affordable, entry-level model, but no time was wasted in offering a sporting version, with the 1300 S arriving less than a year after the Fiesta was introduced. Boasting rampant 66bhp and 68lb ft of torque from its 1298cc pushrod Kent engine, Motor magazine described its performance as 'pleasantly brisk' despite it falling a little short of Ford's claimed top speed of 98mph and 0-60mph time of 10.7sec during a rigorous road test.

In a sign of things to come, Ford followed the S with the racy-looking Supersport, a limited run of 3000 cars built for the 1980 model year. Mechanically identical to the 1300 S, but bedecked in Series-X options, including wheel-arch extensions, small spoilers, cool decals and 13-inch RS four-spoke alloy wheels, it whetted the market's appetite for a hot series-production Fiesta.