M‑Sport hits the road

From glorious country estate to crumbling, council-run psychiatric hospital, Dovenby Hall's subsequent restoration by Wilson and place at the heart of a thriving motorsport operation in the heart of the Lake District underlines his determination, local pride and entrepreneurial spirit. Expansion work is well under way too, this including an additional factory unit to help accommodate recent move into circuit racing (M-Sport also builds and runs Bentley's GT3 cars) and an on-site test track in the estate's grounds.

The emotional and business links with Ford remain strong though, M-Sport now building rally prepped Fiestas for everyone from clubman amateurs to its in-house WRC team. Core business is supplying customer R5 level Fiestas, one rung down from full-blown WRC cars but still running custom developed four-wheel drive powertrains, sequential gearboxes and getting on for 300hp from the modified 1.6-litre Ecoboost engine. One of those will cost you around £170,000 to buy and quite a bit more to run, with or without FIA-mandated cost caps on parts.

Strong stuff. But what if all this expertise and M-Sport's partnerships with suppliers of motorsport hardware like wheels, brakes, gearboxes and suspension could be channelled into an affordable road car? Better still, what if it could be applied to the Fiesta ST, already one of the hot hatches of the moment and the vehicle on which M-Sport's competition rally cars are based?

In the absence of Ford developing the ST into a full blown RS, as it has with the Focus, that's exactly what the Fiesta M-Sport Edition is. Yes, it's an aftermarket tuned car. But with provenance like that behind it one with rather more appeal than your average Max Power special.

A WRC-inspired rear wing, OZ wheels, sticker set and plentiful M-Sport branding inside may not be to all tastes. But this is a properly engineered car, supported by the same suppliers who help transform humble Fiestas into WRC podium sitters. So there's a Quaife limited-slip differential and warranty compliant Mountune power upgrade to 212bhp as standard. And the option to add a Pipercross induction kit, a rorty backbox from Chris Tullett Exhausts (who manufacture the same for M-Sport's rally cars) and a handling package comprising custom tuned Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs. If you're really serious there's even an Alcon brake upgrade. The base package inflates the base ST-1 Fiesta's price from £17,645 to £21,600. Still competitive against rivals like the Clio Renaultsport 220 Trophy and Peugeot 208 GTI though - these cars also the basis for customer rally cars from their respective manufacturers' in-house motorsport divisions.

So how does it drive? Exactly like the standard ST. Just more so. The fundamental excellence of the base car centres on its ability to entertain drivers of average ability up to the limit. And then dance about doing all the lift-off oversteer type stuff old-school hot hatch fans love beyond it. The M-Sport modifications maintain this character but with increased refinement and sophistication. The limited-slip differential means you can get earlier on the power without unseemly scrabbling from the front tyres. Meanwhile the much-improved spring/damper set-up maintains the lively handling balance, simultaneously tidying up the standard car's slightly scrappy body control when things get really rowdy.

Malcolm Wilson's heritage with Ford stretches back a long, long way. And the M-Sport Fiesta is a sincere attempt to offer a taste of what goes into the WRC cars for the price of a regular hot hatch. Wilson himself has put his name to it too - his signature is there under the sun visor of each Edition car built. And the set-up has been perfected by the same people who build the rally cars at M-Sport's headquarters. Ford may not see the need for a factory RS. Instead, as with its rally operation, it's left this one to the real experts. And from a former stately home in the shadow of the Lakeland fells Malcolm Wilson's team has created a true road going pocket rocket for the rallying connoisseur. All power to them!