Secondly, during testing the RS was having endurance problems with its fabricated tubular exhaust manifold and the decision was taken to postpone the launch and develop a new cast manifold instead. Hence the delayed release of the car, which should now be showroom ready this autumn.

Leach was also candid about the direction of future performance models, hinting that we need to change our preconceptions about what we expect to see from fast Fords as new types of diesel and petrol engines, plus new gearboxes, were developed.

It is now confirmed that Ford is working on a new STDi Focus, producing 150bhp from a 2-litre turbo diesel engine, to go head to head with the Golf TDi 150. Leach is hoping to prove the performance diesel concept by racing a 220bhp, 332lb ft Focus diesel in this summer's 12-hour race at the Nürburgring. The race car's 2-litre engine is relatively standard but it'll still be capable of revving to 6500rpm - pretty high for a diesel engine.

It's the relaxed, high-torque delivery of turbo-diesels that attracts Leach towards developing performance variants. In today's crowded conditions, he says, this subtle approach to performance driving is far better than the very high revving nature of, say, Honda's VTEC engines. He believes the diesel engine's inherently narrow power-band can be disguised by clever engine management and close-ratio six-speed gearboxes. Ford also hasn't ruled out the use of new CVT gearboxes as a way of making the most of this limited rev range.

Leach is sure the massive growth in UK diesel sales will continue through 2002-03 and by the first quarter of 2003 he says he wouldn't be surprised to see the percentage of Focuses sold with diesel engines rise to 40 per cent - up from this year's projection of just ten per cent.

The Fiesta won't miss out on this performance diesel culture either with a development of the 1.4D unit the car was launched with. However, the petrol-powered ST version will still come first and the sporty diesel Fiesta is still some way off yet.

Ford also chose Geneva to show its latest petrol engine, the Duratec SCi - or Smart Charge Injection. Leach was keen to point out that this engine shows the future of performance petrol engines as far as Ford is concerned. By injecting petrol directly into the combustion chamber - using technology similar to that in modern diesels - the engine dispenses with a conventional throttle and is far more efficient as a result.

Fitted with a small turbocharger, it gives fantastic power and torque for the engine size, thanks to the inherent efficiency of the design. The 1.1-litre, three-cylinder unit showcased at Geneva, for example, would give similar performance to a conventional 1.6-litre turbo. With the possibility of larger- capacity versions of this new engine, it seems diesels won't be having it all their own way when it comes to future performance versions.

In the next year or two the world of fast Fords, and the engines that power them, will get a thorough shake-up. Whether it's diesel or SCi petrol that comes out on top is hard to say at the moment.

Martin Leach won't speculate either, but then perhaps even he doesn't yet know the full answer.