Dedicated followers of petrol, bow your heads in memory of another lost soul. Today was the day the Ford Focus ST went diesel.

Actually, don’t bow your heads in memory, for you can still have your Blue Oval hot hatch in petrol flavour, packing the same 247bhp 2.0-litre Ecoboost engine as before.

But at the Goodwood Festival of Speed today, Ford today unveiled a DERV-burning version of the Focus ST, a diesel hot hatch to rival the Golf GTD.

It features Ford’s 2.0-litre TDCi turbo four, bumped up to 183bhp and 295lb ft of torque thanks to a revised air intake system, new sports exhaust and ECU remap.

That’s almost identical horsepower, but 37 more torques, than the Golf. Interestingly, Ford’s quote of 8.1 seconds for the 0-62mph run is six-tenths slower than the VW’s official time. A spot of conservatism in the stopwatch department? Cold tyres?

Whatever way, the diesel Focus ST is a chunk less rapid than its petrol cousin, which gets from 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds. However, the diesel ST will be rather more humane to your wallet, Ford quoting combined economy of 64.2mpg and 114g/km of CO2.

Both petrol and diesel models have received gentle chassis revisions over the current ST. There are all-new front springs along with fresh shock absorbers front and rear, quicker variable-ratio steering, and revised traction control and torque vectoring software.

Visually, there’s a new bonnet, squintier headlights and a bigger grille, with a beefier bodykit completing the look.

Pricing? No word until the autumn, but we’d expect the diesel Focus ST to undercut the £25,765 VW asks for the Golf GTD.

So, a diesel Focus ST: an insult to the fine name of Ford hot hatches, or a damn sensible move?