Following the success of the Supersport version, Ford went all-in on a feisty Fiesta with the launch of the XR2 in September 1981.
While the Supersport made do with the 1.3-litre Kent motor, Ford decided to go large with its latest XR, looking across the pond for inspiration and opting for a revised version of the bigger 1.6-litre Federal engine that stateside Fiestas received.
Its reasoning was simple. Not only did Ford need to eclipse the Supersport’s peppy performance, the development criteria for the new XR2 also specified it had to be capable of over 100 mph yet be affordable to boot.
The company’s Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) operation was tasked with making the dream a reality and gave the 1598cc motor a go-faster makeover with the additions of a GT-specification cylinder head and camshaft, plus a 32/34 DFT Weber carburettor. It worked too, the XR2 comfortably surpassing the
