Ford has sold its four-millionth Fiesta in the UK, 37 years after the first model left the production line.
The car in question, a Fiesta Zetec in Candy Blue with a 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, was presented to its owner at a Ford main dealer in the North East today.
Since the original Fiesta was launched back in 1976, it has gone on to sell more than 17 million units worldwide, and has been the biggest selling small car in the UK for 27 of its 37 years on the market. The Fiesta is also currently the UK's biggest selling car, having overtaken the Ford Focus back in 2009.
In fact, if the Fiesta continues to sell it will become the best-selling car of all time in Britain, a title currently held by the Ford Escort, which sold 4,105,192 units between 1968 and 2000.
Scroll down to take a look at the evolution of the Fiesta.
Mk1 (1976 - 1983)
UK sales of the first-generation Ford Fiesta began in January 1977, with a basic 950cc model costing just £1,856 (£9,783 in today's money). For that you got PVC seats, carpets, a laminated windscreen and er... that was about it. An interesting side note is that it would take 80 modern day Fiestas to match the NOx emissions of a Mk1. Blimey!
Mk2 (1983 - 1989)
The Mk2 model was little more than a facelift of its predecessor; however, it was enough to keep Fiesta sales strong throughout the remaind of the Thatcher years. Between 1984 and 1989, the Fiesta hovered between being Ford's second and third best-selling car. However, by '89, it was showing its age.
Mk3 (1989 - 1995)
The Mk3 looked radically different to the models which came before it, but was still more of a revision of the previous car than an all-new model. The big news though was that the Fiesta was available as a five-door for the first time, addressing one of the major criticisms of the Mk2. The changes paid off too -- the Fiesta was Britain's best-selling car in 1990, the first time a supermini had topped the charts.
Mk4 (1995 - 1999)
The Fiesta's Achilles' heel had always been its engines. The 1.3-litre unit which was fitted to most Fiestas was distantly related to the engine used in the Ford Anglia, some forty years previously. With the Mk4, however, the Fiesta got an all-new 1.25-litre Yamaha-developed unit. Plus, a new suspension system made it one of the best handling cars in its class.
Mk5 (1999 - 2002)
This model is also referred to as the Mk4 facelift on account of its similarity to the '95 - '99 model; however, we're referring to it as the Mk5 for the sake of simplicity. The new Fiesta got styling inspired by Ford's 'New Edge' design philosophy which was introduced on the Ka, and was the last model to be produced at Ford's Dagenham Plant in Essex.
Mk6 (2002 - 2008)
Ford redesign the Fiesta from the ground up in 2002, making the Mk6 model the first Fiesta not to owe anything to the original 1976 design. Despite the improvements, however, the Fiesta was losing ground to its rivals and the Mk6 was outsold for most of its life by the Vauxhall Corsa.
Mk7 (2008-)
Whereas the Mk6 had struggled against the Corsa in the sales charts, the Mk7 has been nothing short of a sales phenomenon. Before the Mk7 came out, the Fiesta had only ever topped the UK sales charts once (in 1990). Since then, however, the Fiesta has been the biggest selling car in Blighty every single year. This could be partly attributed to the 2008 recession forcing people to drive smaller cars; however, the fact that the Fiesta is arguably the best car in its class cannot be overlooked.
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