Does anyone dislike the Ford Fiesta ST? We haven't met one who does, and what's more, two of our staffers daily drive 'em. That's a good thing for Ford, but it also means it's got a pretty big task developing a new Fiesta ST when the current one goes out of production. Ford has already started preliminary work on the next Fiesta ST, and it might mean big news under the hood. Or, well, small news.

Auto Express reports that Ford is considering ditching the current Fiesta ST's turbocharged four-cylinder in favor of its 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder. Currently, that engine makes 123 horsepower in the Fiesta SE EcoBoost, but it's got headroom—Ford tuned one to 205 horses, and installed it in a Formula Ford race car.

"We're seeing more and more of what we can do with the 1.0-liter engine in development and the signs are promising," Ford's European head of small cars Darren Palmer told Auto Express. "It's a great engine–it sounds brilliant and there's loads of torque when the turbo comes on boost, so we're looking into things for the next ST."

The current Fiesta ST generates 197 horsepower from its turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder, so we'd expect Ford is targeting a comparable power output from the tiny one-liter EcoBoost—which, given its suitcase-like size, could shave some weight compared to the current ST's four-cylinder.

Palmer also told Auto Express that the Fiesta's Belgian development team "obsessed" over getting the car's steering perfect. "They've fine-tuned the calibration to make sure it drives exactly how a Fiesta should," he said.

Enthusiasts typically worry about downsizing, but a three-cylinder Fiesta ST could be a riot. Even in its current form, the 1.0-liter EcoBoost is fun to drive, and given how Ford Performance loves to play with turbos, we expect great things out of this hypothetical combination.

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