Let this stat sink in for a second: one in every 20 cars sold in Britain over the last four decades was a Ford Fiesta.
This means that at some point in life there’s a very good chance most British families have owned one.
The blue-oval brand has sold an enormous 4,399,149 Fiestas in Britain between its first incarnation in 1976, to 2016, when it is now in it’s seventh guise — that makes it the best-selling model of all time in the UK.
And to celebrate its 40th birthday, the carmaker dragged out all seven generations of the record-breaking model to parade in convoy with other owners on a 70-mile dash from its engine plant in Dagenham to Brighton racecourse this month.
The event paid homage to a model that is expected to sell its 18 millionth unit worldwide by the end of this year.
In Britain alone, it’s the most-bought car on record, overtaking the Ford Escort as the nation’s all-time favourite two years ago — it’s fair to say the Fiesta has been an overwhelming success for Ford. Around 200 Fords took part in the drive, with entry to the event available to all blue-oval badged vehicles, from Cortinas to the latest Ranger.
But it was the Fiesta that stole the limelight, with a full quota of heritage vehicles from the UK division’s fleet joining the cavalcade.
The Ford Fiesta ST. Picture / Ted Baghurst
The run included the MkIV 1.4 Fiesta Ghia — the 10 millionth Ford vehicle produced at the Dagenham plant.
It was joined by a World Rally Championship car of the same generation along with a selection of privately owned MkI cars in pristine condition. Speaking from the event, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, Andy Barratt, said: “The opportunity to have these wonderful heritage vehicles lined up next to our latest Fiestas, such as the ST200, is very rare and was fully appreciated by Ford fans.”
To commemorate the Fiesta, Ford has chronicled the model’s record-breaking past with a near year-on-year snapshot of the 40-year evolution of its supermini. The run included the MkIV 1.4 Fiesta Ghia — the 10 millionth Ford vehicle produced at the Dagenham plant.
It was joined by a World Rally Championship car of the same generation along with a selection of privately owned MkI cars in pristine condition.
-Daily Mail