Archive special: How the Ford Fiesta was born

Predicting that energy anxiety, inflation and stagnant standards of living would send mini cars’ market share as high as 30%, Ford had sought to make the Fiesta as affordable as possible in terms of purchase, running and repair – but vitally a ‘proper car’ scaled down, not a spartan econobox.

It was seen as vital for weight to be below 700kg, so Lotus-level attention went into every panel, to the extent that the Fiesta used 40% fewer stampings than the Escort.

Transverse mounting of the engine would give the Fiesta Escort-equivalent space inside but made aerodynamic optimisation challenging. Yet some 250 tweaks from wind tunnel work yielded a rating of 0.42Cd – 0.6 less than the comparable Datsun Cherry.

Rather than spending loads on creating a small engine from scratch, Ford revised its proven Kent unit, the new squarer design producing 40bhp or 45bhp in 957cc form or 53bhp in 1117cc guise.

This was linked to a new four-speed manual gearbox, remarkable for its compactness. As in the seminal 127, the layout resulted in the two driveshafts being of unequal lengths.

Suspension was by a very simple MacPherson-strut layout up front, familiar but for new-style bearings that reduced the required amount of steering effort, and a dead axle at the rear to avoid extra weight and ensure consistent handling.

All this work was meant to give the Fiesta notably better refinement than rivals. Indeed, we said: “As a piece of Ford thoroughness, this is perhaps the most impressive car yet.”

Britain was to be the last market to get the Fiesta, but our German correspondent reported: “Even the basic Fiesta has no air of austerity. The impression of smallness is lost when you take the wheel. The [957cc] engine is very eager, and with two people aboard, the car is no sluggard, cruising safely and surprisingly quietly at 70mph. And the 1117cc unit makes it quite able to live with much more powerful cars, especially on winding roads.

“One of the typical Fiesta features is ease of handling. And all models ride very well, on both smooth and uneven surfaces.”

He concluded that “the Fiesta seems to be the ideal car for the young family or as a family car”. Some two million people agreed – or, if you include the subsequent six generations of Fiesta, more than 22 million. Few cars have left or will leave such a legacy.