650 flywheel horsepower. All-wheel drive. State-of-the-art chassis design. Built by Ford!? The new Fiesta has been the top selling economy car in Europe since its release in 2007, but who would have believed that it would be a contender in WRC and Rally America competition? Even crazier, who would have thought that former Subaru driver and DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block would be the man to pilot such a machine in rally and gymkhana?

Ford Europe: Rallying Since The 70's

Rally racing dates back to the turn of the 20th century in Europe. Ford has participated in the World Rally Championship (WRC) since its inception in 1973. Specially-built Ford Escort RS1800's captured Ford's first WRC manufacturer's title in 1979. Since then, Ford has continued to compete with a variety of platforms including the Escort RS Cosworth, Focus RS WRC and soon, the Fiesta. While based on production chassis, these fully-built racecars featured entirely custom drivelines and race engine builds unlike any Escort, Focus or Fiesta that rolls off the assembly line. Racecar builders like M-Sport and Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution (OMSE) build and race these all-wheel drive monsters in WRC stages around the globe.

Two Desires, One Solution

When Subaru pulled out of rally racing, Block sought a new sponsor. His dream was to compete in WRC, but Subaru's retreat from competition left him searching for an opportunity. Ford on the other hand, planned to launch its new Fiesta Rally car program and wanted to work with Block on a global competition campaign, including WRC and Rally America. After a few meetings, a new relationship had been forged and Block became a new face for Ford in rally competitions around the world. In addition, the unbelievable internet sensation of Block's first two gymkhana videos made building a Fiesta for the next gymkhana installment an obvious next step. Ford happily obliged.

Pro Chassis Prep

Andreas Eriksson, a four-time Swedish rally champion and manager of chassis builder OMSE, has built and raced Ford Fiestas and Focuses for both world and local rally competitions. For this project, he started with a rallycross-prepped Fiesta and turned it into Block's gymkhana car. Sharing a similar overall setup, Block specified that the chassis had to "handle on tarmac as if it were on gravel." Since gymkhana does not restrict the way that the cars are built, Eriksson practically had a blank slate to work with. The Fiesta's high-strength boron-steel chassis serves as the foundation for the build. Eriksson comments, "The Fiesta chassis is actually quite good as a starting point. Road holding and stiffness are decent from the factory. Compared to previous models, it's wider from the factory which adds to vehicle stability." The new chassis is only 7 kg (15.4 lbs.) heavier than the old model. OMSE welded in a rallycross-spec cage that ties in every point of flex in the chassis to maximize stiffness and thus response.

A Matter Of Stance

With the rally-spec cage and chassis preparations completed, attention turned to the undercarriage. Widening the track for improved stability as well as preparing for the conversion to all-wheel drive required OMSE custom suspension links and hubs. These adjustable pieces accommodate the all-wheel drive conversion that center on the OMSE/Maktrak sequential transmission. Housed in a lightweight magnesium case, the custom Maktrak gearset is manufactured out of S135 aircraft-grade steel for improved durability. Custom OMSE driveshafts turn lock-adjustable Maktrak front and rear LSDs that get the wheels turning. Inside each of the wheel wells, Öhlins 4-way adjustable dampers with 70 lbf/in springs suspend the chassis. One of only two Öhlins programmable damper control units (the other is in use on a Ducati Moto GP bike) makes both high and low speed compression and rebound adjustment with a simple press of a button.

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