FIESTA MK6
Euro Fiesta with a 1.6 Duratec Turbo lump under its bonnet.
The Mk6 Fiesta is a stalwart of the fast Ford scene in the UK. Whether it’s a stanced showstopper, a fast-road daily driver, or a stripped- out track machine, the Mk6 Fiesta can carry it off, and carry it off well. It’s for that reason that we’ve seen all manner of different tuning styles applied to the little hatch. The Mk6 has seen everything from on-the-floor hydraulic suspension with insanely expensive rims, right through to full- on Cossie-powered 4x4 conversions, and pretty much everything in between.
But, despite its popularity throughout Europe, a modified Mk6 Fiesta is something seldom seen outside of the UK. But that’s something Hungarian Ford fan, László Varga, is looking to put right with the tidy, turbocharged example you see here.
The story begins back in 2007, when the Fiesta was just four years old, and nothing more than a 1.3-litre shopping car. And, bizarrely, it was this simplicity and frugalness that appealed to László: “I liked the shape, and I wanted a small car that would be cheap to run and easy to maintain.” Therefore, his initial plans were to leave the car alone. But when bolting on a set of new wheels lead to lowering the suspension, the touchpaper was well and truly lit. “The first mods were
“The plan was always to add a turbo”
new wheels and coilovers. I think that’s the basis for everything,” explains László with a smile.
yank-inspired
The Fiesta went on to wear several sets of rims, but none of them really stood out. László wanted a wheel that was wide and unique, and when he saw a Mini rolling on Corvette C4 ‘sawblade’ rims he found the answer. “It was love a first sight,” he remarks.
But fitting the Corvette wheels to the Fiesta was no easy task. To start with, László wanted a staggered fitment – possible because these wheels were actually offered in different sizes – 8.5x16in and 9.5x16in. The downside is he had to buy two sets of wheels to achieve this! “At least I have a spare set!” he laughs. Also, getting the Fiesta’s 4x108 stud pattern to mate with the 5x120 boltholes in the wheel required a set of custom PCD adapters, but this was a quicker solution than re- drilling all the hubs.
Meanwhile, the asthmatic 1.3-litre Duratec powerplant was starting to annoy László. To be blunt, it was pretty crap! So it had to go. But what would replace it? At first the small capacity Duratec made way for a two-litre Zetec from a Mk1 Focus. The increased displacement provided a useable increase in both power and torque, but László soon became accustomed to the 130bhp it offered. So it wasn’t long before he found himself looking for other, more potent alternatives.
turbo time
One suggestion was to fit a 2.0litre Duratec from the Fiesta ST – a simple installation offering at least 150bhp with great tuning potential. Another option would
be to fit a turbocharged two-litre from a Focus RS – not the easiest of swaps, but with potential for great returns in terms of power.
However, neither of those appealed to László. He wanted to try something a bit different, something he could put his own stamp on, and something that would retain the element of surprise. “I eventually decided to fit a 1.6-litre Duratec, and turbocharge it,” he smirks. “The plan was always to add a turbo, and it seemed like a better idea than fitting an already-turbo-charged engine. However, despite the block, almost nothing of the original 1.6 Duratec remains” he comments.
With a suitable donor engine sourced, László headed off to PW Racing where they could pull it apart and make the necessary modifications to ensure this engine could handle a meaningful amount of boost. You’ll find no cheap de-compression plates here – the entire engine has been built specifically as a turbocharged unit. The stock pistons have been binned to make way for a set of lower compression ratio, forged Wiseco replacements. Likewise the standard con-rods which would fold themselves in half at the first sight of some boosted air have been swapped out for some much more substantial items from Eagle. The crank was balanced and polished before the whole bottom end of the new engine could be assembled, complete with a host of ARP bolts and ACL heavy- duty bearings.
Up top, the head has been allowed to breathe a little easier thanks to
a touch of port work. A custom pair of cams with a profile more suited to a turbocharged application have also been added, and a custom intake manifold ensures a safe passage for the boosted air, which comes courtesy of a K04 turbo mounted on a custom exhaust manifold. A set of Siemens injectors supply the increased demands for fuel, while a VEMS ECU keeps control of everything.
László’s not had the car on a dyno since the new engine has been fitted, but he is confident of between 270-280bhp! And with a larger turbo, the current set-up should easily cope with over 300bhp!
PW Racing may have assembled the new engine, but the job of fitting it to the Fiesta was left to László. “Basically everything in the engine bay needed some modification to get the turbo’d engine to fit!” he recalls. This included physically altering the engine bay itself, as well as pretty much everything it houses. Everything from simple wiring issues, to the installation of a custom front-mount intercooler had to be addressed.
“There were a few minor problems along the way, but nothing too serious. Most problems were solved
“Everything in the engine bay needed some modification”
“The police really do not like this car, they’ve already taken my papers and licence twice”
within a day or two, but getting the mapping right took a while.” The new engine really transformed the car, giving it a whole new direction. And coupled with KW coilovers and Wilwood front, and Focus rear brake upgrades, the car soon became “a real corner hunter” as László describes it. So much so that the standard seats were no longer up to the job, and a pair of Recaro buckets from a Mitsubishi Evo 6 were soon added. At the same time László took the opportunity to remove the rear seats – “it’s not a taxi!” – and also add a roll cage too. “I started doing track days so a little extra stiffness didn’t hurt. Plus it looks great,” he grins. The cage itself is actually from a race-spec VW Polo, but László has modified it to fit the Fiesta.
police aware As László found himself doing more and more trackdays, a few more track- oriented mods followed, marking the end of the car’s use as a daily driver. Probably a good thing too, as László has already had a few runins with the Hungarian police: “The police really do not like this car! They’ve already taken my papers and my licence plate twice!” So, is the future of the car destined to be solely on the track? Nope, László still uses it on the road too. And already he’s got plans for a bigger turbo, Bride buckets, new wheels, and a colour change! Let’s see what the Hungarian rozzers make of that, quite clearly they don’t like surprises! But we do!