Ben Sher has modified his Mk6 Ford Fiesta with EcoBoost power and JWRC looks to create a fabulous fusion of show and go.
Quite a lot of what you’re seeing here can probably be traced back to the fact that Ben Sher’s first ever Ford was a Racing Puma. As introductions to a marque go, that’s a pretty darned forthright way to jump in with both feet. The Racing Puma was essentially a caricature of the regular production Puma, adding in cartoonishly wide wings and arches that made it look like an everyday example had been overinflated with some manner of industrial air pump, while the drivetrain and interior were colourfully refracted through a motorsport filter. And that, essentially, is what Ben’s done to this Fiesta. The potential was there, the basic profile was good, he just felt a strong compulsion to amp it up a bit.
Ben’s car history
“My first car was an EP3 Honda Civic Type R, which really got me hooked onto fast cars,” he explains. “But coming from a family of Ford lovers, there was only one way this was going to go! I went on to own Racing Puma no.427, which I bought for £3,000 back in the day, and I wish I’d held on to it as they’ve really shot up in value. After that I bought a Mk6 Fiesta ST150 to run around in, until the bottom end went, and the next Ford was a Mk2 Focus ST facelift running a solid 360bhp – I loved the five-pot and the fact it was bright orange, I regret selling it still to this day.”
Ben had good reason to move it on though, as what followed was rather impressive: a Fiesta RS Turbo shell kitted out with an ST170 engine on danST throttle bodies. That was built as a track car, although he found that he wasn’t able to get as much track time as he’d ideally like, so the Fiesta was moved on and replaced by a Hyundai i30 N as a daily, plus something a little bit frisky on the side. And that frisky thing is what you’re looking at here – a Mk6 Fiesta with the crazy dial turned up to eleven.
Building a modified Fiesta Mk6 for the track and show
It takes a certain type of commitment to start a build knowing that it has to fulfil two purposes: from the very outset, this Fiesta was intended to be both a show car and a track car; as such, it had to offer hilarious performance from a comprehensively upgraded drivetrain and chassis, while also being painstakingly crafted and maintained to a show-winning finish. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But apparently the concept of ‘a lot’ doesn’t register with Ben as being anything to be concerned about. He just gritted his teeth and got stuck in.
Buying an EcoBoost swapped Mk6 Fiesta
“I chose to build a Mk6 simply because I love them and I’d enjoyed owning a standard one before,” he explains. “I saw this one on eBay one night last November and thought: I need to have it. It had the ST180 engine in it, but was otherwise running basically standard with a set of Team Dynamics wheels. I had a plan for it from the start, and having my own garage business made all the work easier as all the tools are there, and having multiple ramps means I could work on it after hours more easily. I had the car a week and then it got stripped to bits!
“Another reason I wanted a Mk6 Fiesta was that I’d seen the JWRC kit on one years ago and always wanted one,” he continues. “So as soon as I had the money to buy a good Mk6 it was the plan straight away – I just didn’t realise how far it would go, I just kept on going until I got it right.”
What is JWRC?
That’s certainly as strong a reason as any, and Ben was more than equipped with the skills and tenacity to get it done properly. And to dispel a common myth, there’s nothing watered-down about the JWRC; the initialism may stand for Junior World Rally Championship, but don’t let that first word fool you – it’s a hardcore discipline.
Devised by the FIA as an accessible arrive-and-drive format, the series provides an opportunity for promising young drivers to test their mettle and show their worth while the industry bigwigs keep a keen eye on the emerging talent. Former JWRC champions include such luminaries as Sébastien Loeb, Dani Sordo, Sébastien Ogier, Craig Breen and Elfyn Evans, and you don’t need us to tell you what an impressive roll-call that is. So the aggressive aesthetic of JWRC was something that Ben very much wanted to channel for his project, to bring all of that rally menace onto the showground as well as the track.
Buying the JWRC kit for the modified Mk6 Ford Fiesta
“I waited three months for the full JWRC kit to be delivered, which gave me plenty of time to get the car ready for fitting,” he recalls. “I bought the suspension and installed that, and sourced the brakes – that was fun as I had to make the fronts fit, because it’s a kit for the ST180 which don’t directly mount to ST150 hubs; not a major problem though, as it just requires a bit of grinding down in the caliper brackets.
Then the wheels were ordered, which was a life-saver as there’s some work to do on the front end to get the wheels to clear lock-to-lock, because they hit the chassis leg and inner arch so it’s not a straight-up fit like people think when they buy them. Unless they’re running small wheels, but that looks terrible and you just wouldn’t do it. And the thing some people ask is why I haven’t lowered it – well, I love the raised rally look and that’s how it should be!”
The man’s absolutely right, of course. While it’s true in 95% of cases that making a car lower instantly makes it cooler, it wouldn’t provide the correct level of purpose and up-and-at-’em playfulness that this bright green brawler has in spades. In fact, that neatly underlines the supreme logic that’s infused this project all along: this has never been about doing what the scene sees as ‘correct’, or doing things to please forum warriors and Insta-cynics.
Bonkers but sensible
Ben built this modified Mk6 Fiesta to fulfil a dream, and he intends to use it to the fullest. After letting a few Ford icons slip through his fingers, this one isn’t going anywhere – and it has to be usable. That’s why the front half of the cabin sports pretty much a full factory interior in addition to those floor-mounted buckets. He’s going to be driving this on the road, either to shows or to the track, and it’s noisy enough as it is so he’s allowed himself a bit of carpet. It’s handy to have a stereo and a heater too, that’s not a compromise. That’s just good sense.
“When the JWRC kit arrived, it was fitted in-house, then the car was painted by JRM Coachworks who did an amazing job,” says Ben. “After that, it was a long drive down to Middlesbrough to collect the WRC wing, which was like hen’s teeth to find; I think the small wings people put with these kits don’t do the look any justice – go big or go home, right? And once the car was built and ready to drive, it got dropped off to Sitech to get a lot of work done – injectors, big turbo, cams, full exhaust system, mapping, the full once-over. To hear Simon say that it’s a top car really completed the build! And now it’s finished, well, it’s mega and it goes like the clappers.”
Modified Mk6 Ford Fiesta verdict
The finished product certainly is an impressive beast on all conceivable fronts. Like Racing Puma DNA spliced into an ST150. But perhaps we’re misguided in considering this to be a ‘finished product’ – because while Ben suggests that he’s reached the limit of horsepower before it becomes overkill in a front-wheel drive car, there’s also a hint that maybe conversations have been happening about an AWD conversion. If that’s the case (and let’s face it, once you’ve had an idea like that, you’re not going to put it down), the next time we see this Fiesta out and about, it could once again be a very different animal…
Photos: Ade Brannan.
Love modified Fords? Our season closer for Blue Oval fans take places this September 22nd at Mallory Park. Be sure to check out the event preview here, or head to the event website here for more info.
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