The arrival of the bonkers Focus RS gave rise to rumors that Ford is also considering an RS-badged version of the Fiesta. Unfortunately, such a scenario was dismissed by FoMoCo in January 2016, leaving Fiesta enthusiasts to look at tuning shops for more power. Until now, Ford's official tuning partner, Mountune, offered a 23-horsepower and 26 pound-foot upgrade in the U.S., but these figures will get significantly better with a new performance package. Specifically, Mountune wants to give the Fiesta ST's turbocharged four-cylinder an extra 80 horsepower at the flywheel.

That's the word from Mountune's U.S. president Ken Anderson, who told Autoblog that a new upgrade will take the Fiesta ST up to 280 horsepower. That around 80 horses more than the stock model and 65 more than the maximum output of the Fiesta ST200. As a brief reminder, the ST200 gets an additional 15 horsepower and 22 pound-feet for up to 15 seconds.

The extra 80 horsepower at the flywheel will come from a larger turbocharger, a new ECU tune, and likely a revised exhaust system too. Mountune has yet to reveal details, but Anderson said that full info will be unleashed when the new performance kit goes on sale later this year.

This new package will be one of the many Fiesta upgrades that Mountune offers in the U.S. Ford's official tuning partner in Europe, Mountune opened shop in California in 2013 and it has since launched numerous performance-enhancing parts for the Focus, Fiesta, and sixth-generation Mustang. More recently, Mountune developed an upgrade for the Focus RS, Ford's most powerful and only all-wheel-drive hatchback to date.

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Why it Matters?

Mountune's upcoming upgrade is definitely substantial at 80 horsepower. With a new output of around 280 horses, the Fiesta ST by Mountune will become the closest thing you can get to a Fiesta RS, a hot-hatch we might not get anytime soon. And with the package set up by one of Ford's official partners, the ST Mountune will in fact be an RS without the badge, given that customers also pick a suspension upgrade. What's important to note is that at 280 horsepower, Mountune's most powerful kit for the Fiesta will make the small hatchback faster and more powerful than the Focus ST. It will probably cost a few thousand bucks, but think of all the fun you'll have afterward.

Read our full review on the Ford Fiesta ST here.