The Fiesta, spanning 6 generations with more than 15 million Fiestas sold globally since 1976, has taken the market by storm with its big features.

Here’s a look at Fiesta’s history and how it’s managed to stay fresh over the years.

Fiesta through the Years

The very first Fiesta was produced in Valencia, Spain in 1976 as Ford’s practical and economical response to the global fuel crisis. Little did anyone know that Fiesta would become one of Ford’s greatest success stories – its appeal has spanned generations of drivers with its attractive styling, practicality, efficiency and performance.

Although it was first produced in 1976, the history of the Fiesta actually stretches back further. It was 1972 when the Fiesta was first conceived as the secret “Project Bobcat.” Ford’s goal was to create a new, small car for the world – a mission that was close to the heart of Ford Chairman Henry Ford II.

Soon after its launch, Fiesta began logging major milestones that continue to this day. In 1977, Fiesta was named Spain’s Car of the Year. In 1979, the one-millionth Fiesta was built. In 1989, it became the first small car with ABS. And the list goes on…just take a look at the remarkable timeline.

With the refreshing facelift that the new Fiesta received, the decades-old favorite is looking sharper than ever and is still turning heads.

Inspiring the Future with Fiesta Concepts

In addition to the market successes that six generations of Fiesta have notched, Fiesta concept cars have also made their mark. As a launching pad for innovation and creativity, the Fiesta concepts have demonstrated the versatility of small cars. While some concepts were purely for show, others were destined for production or racing competitions to drive the Ford brand forward.

Fiesta has lent its architecture to 22 concept vehicles during its history, including some of these highlights:

• Ghia Corrida (1976): The first Fiesta-based concept car, introduced at the 1976 Turin Motor Show as a vision of a new age sports car with an array of safety features.
• Ghia GTK (1979): Highly futuristic, the GTK stood for Grand Touring Kombi and was intended as a sporty, aerodynamic grand touring car with ample luggage space.
• Ghia Pockar (1980): Pockar = pocket car. Small and narrow, yet tall, this concept was about space efficient. It incorporated luggage compartments into the exterior door panels and the rear seat could be folded-flat to accommodate bulky items. The two-segment doors were cut horizontally, with the upper portion of the door opening conventionally but the bottom portion folding door like a tailgate.
• Fiesta Urba (1989): Built around the idea of a city shopper vehicle, it offered everything the customer would require for a day of power shopping around the town. The car had a variety of features including parking aids, a refrigerator in the trunk and innovative interior storage.
• Ghia Zig & Ghia Zag (1990): A unique pair of concepts, the Zig and Zag were envisioned as a potential system of sports cars, hatchbacks, sedans, pick-ups and delivery vans employing a shared lower door and body panels. While the Zag was open-topped and inspired by sports racing cars, the Zig was a futuristic yet practical multipurpose concept, similar to a small van.
• Fiesta RS WRC Preview Model (2010): Ford announced its entry into the 2011 World Rally Championship at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, displaying the Fiesta World Rally Car.
• Fiesta (2011): The Fiesta S1600 special edition debut its most powerful engine yet with 1.6-litre, 134PS Duratec Ti-VCT. In addition, the Fiesta RS World Rally Car made its competitive debut with a clean sweep of the podium at Rally Sweden. Current generation Fiesta also achieved a production milestone as the one millionth example leaves the production line in Cologne. 2011 also celebrated the Fiesta’s 35th anniversary by achieving a total of 15 million sales worldwide and benefits from interior and exterior upgrades and revisions.

New Fiesta in the Philippines

The new Ford Fiesta is poised to yet again redefine the small car segment with its exciting new bold design, segment-leading fuel economy, class-leading safety features and all-new smart technologies, including Ford SYNC.

Starting August, eight new class-leading Fiesta variants will be available to customers at Ford showrooms nationwide featuring the 1.5L Ti-VCT engine, inboth automatic and manual transmissions. The new 5-door Fiesta Sport+ with the patented 1.0L EcoBoost engine, which was recently named the 2013 International Engine of the Year, winning the award for the second consecutive year,  will be available to customers later in the year.

Click here to view the Fiesta Challenge between the classic and new Ford Fiesta.