Ford has revealed that the Fiesta RS World Rally Car has completed over 2,000 kilometres of testing in the last two weeks.
Designed for the FIA's 2011 World Rally Championship regulations, the Fiesta uses a 1.6-litre, turbocharged engine. While the power unit is said to be based on the road-going Ford EcoBoost engine, the rest of the car is a development of the Fiesta S2000 rally car (pictured).
There is still plenty of work to do; later this month (July) the updated engine and electronics will be tested in France. The first run of the full 2011 specification is scheduled for September. Ford and rally partner M-Sport also need to finalise the car's styling, which will share the 'kinetic design' themes of the road car.
Development of Ford's latest rally car was initially delayed while the FIA finalised the rules for next year's championship. The Fiesta takes over from the Focus RS World Rally Car, which bows out after eleven years and 43 victories.