WRC has 5 different level. The most competitive one is Group 2 which requires production car body shell and there are teams still using Fiesta in this level.    Group 1 is NASCAR style tube chassis with look alike fiberglass body. Group 2 is production body shell and 4WD with turbo up to 1.6 liter. Group 3 is same as Group 2 but with either naturally aspirated engine up to 1.6 liter or turbo up to 1.1 liter. Group 4 and 5 is 2WD version of Group 2 and 3.   Unclear what the announcement mean if Ford is returning to Group 1 or some other level. 

I do believe there's a market for people who want the practicality of a truck, but not the traditional look, size, or performance of a truck. How big of a market there is, it's hard to say, def. small, but it's there.    Would be cool to see Ford leverage the mustang platform to tap into that. 

Probably not, but there's probably a ton of stuff from the late 2010s and early 2020s that we never saw. All the stuff that got canceled, especially under Farley. A lot of it had to have been in the design sketch and clay modeling stages, wish we could see it. 

If you think the Mach E pissed off Mustang fans, hold on to your hat if this ever came about.   The biggest issue with this is that it only has 2 doors and it would be pretty much a complete non-starter at that point. 

We need this exact type of vehicle.  I believe these would sell like crazy.  Remember, I was the one saying we needed something smaller then the Ranger, a new Ranchero.  When it started to leak about the Maverick most said it would never sell, then it gets released and everyone is now a fan.  Ford needs to build this, you could make the 2.3L standard and optional 2.7/3.0L V6 and the 5.0L V8.  AWD would be nice but I don't think the current platform could handle it.

I agree. When Lincoln hit their 100th anniversary owned by Ford in the commercial for it they very quickly showed a few concept sketches that we never saw before. I bet theres a ton of cool stuff Ford Lincoln and even Mercury had that has never seen the light of day.   I wonder how far along they were at designing the Tracer based Focus before the Mercury brand was shut down.

I would be surprised if there was much from like 2005-2012 when the company was fighting just to survive   

Wow what a concept.

The exact vehicles might not come to the US, but the strategy might. The skunkworks facility was working on some sort of hot hatch with a rally racing old escort in the corner for inspiration. 

I understand the cynicism, but let's just see where it goes. If nothing else, it's a kickass idea if they really commit to it. Farley in his interview with top gear said they didn't just want this to be a case of great steering and handling for a fiesta, but the car was still a base fiesta.    So it sounds like whatever they're cooking up might push the envelope a little further than what we saw with things like the fiesta st. Time will tell.