BRENTWOOD, Essex, 7 December, 2009 – Ford has won two BBC Top Gear awards that recognise the company's prowess at extreme ends of the auto industry spectrum.
The Ford Focus RS, the fastest and the most powerful front-wheel-drive Ford ever produced in Europe, has been selected as "Muscle Car of the Year" by BBC Top Gear magazine, while Ford's lowest carbon emitting model, the 98g CO2/km Ford Fiesta ECOnetic is Top Gear's "Green Car of the Year".
In assessing the awards, the BBC Top Gear team took into account all aspects of the vehicles. Editor, Conor McNicholas, said: "The Focus RS is nothing short of a hero. Amazing engineering in a car with huge road-presence, the RS is both massive fun and a connoisseur's choice. It’s a bargain too."
Commenting on the Green Car of the Year award, he said: "We’re hugely impressed with the Fiesta Econetic. In an era where too many think going green means having a fun-lobotomy, this Ford matches spritely on road dynamics with fabulous fuel economy. There really is no compromise. Make them all like this!"
On hearing the news, Nigel Sharp, Ford of Britain's managing director, said: "We are delighted to have Ford cars recognised in two completely different categories. It confirms our technical capability and the strength in-depth of Ford's fresh and exciting model range."
The Ford Fiesta is the top selling car in the UK with almost 110,000 sales this year. The Ford Fiesta ECOnetic and the Ford Focus RS are available from £14,645 and £26,995, respectively.
Notes for editors:
| Focus RS | Fiesta ECOnetic |
| 305PS / 420Nm | 90PS |
| 225g/km CO2 | 98g/km CO2 |
| Max speed – 163mph | Max speed – 111mph |
| 0-62mph 5.9s | 0-62mph 12.3s |
| 30.1mpg (combined)* | 76.3mpg (combined)* |
| Insurance group 19E | Insurance group 4E |
*Note: Fuel economy figures quoted are based on the European Fuel Economy Directive
EU 80/1268/EEC and will differ from fuel economy drive cycle results in other regions of the world.