The Tiny Titan 1.0 EcoBoost in Fast Ford Magazine

Fast Ford Magazine, October 2015: six pages on our 1.0 EcoBoost development car. Click the spread to download the feature as a PDF.

205bhp. Three cylinders. Less than a litre. Standard internals.

One of the latest Pumaspeed creations and demo cars, the 205bhp Tiny Titan Fiesta Zetec S Mk7.5 1.0 EcoBoost, was featured over six pages in the October 2015 issue of Fast Ford Magazine. Here is the story of the car, and how to build your own.

See what Fast Ford Magazine have to say

Fast Ford had only just covered our 300bhp Fiesta ST when they came back for this one, and in their words it is, if anything, even more remarkable. The magazine makes the point that the UK Ford scene is moving forward fast, helped by some jaw-dropping cars from Ford themselves, and that a three-cylinder engine today is a long way from the lethargic units of the 1990s. The 1.0 EcoBoost leaves the factory with 128bhp. Pumaspeed took it to 205bhp and 260Nm on completely standard internals.

Tony McQuire told the magazine that manufacturers moving to small-capacity engines with sophisticated turbos does not have to mean the end of the tuning industry: quite the opposite.

Download the Fast Ford feature (PDF) →

From 128bhp to 205bhp

The development story

Pumaspeed bought this car brand new when the Zetec S debuted in 2013, and it was always going to be a hard-working development mule. It has been methodically pulled apart and put back together to find out how much power the engine can take and where the limits are, and it went through several distinct phases on the way to its current form.

• Phase 1: a remap and an induction kit took it to a handy 140bhp.
• Stage 2: a free-flowing exhaust and another ECU tweak gave a whisker under 160bhp.
• Stage 3: a modest step to 167bhp, and the point where the factory turbo ran out.
• X-26 hybrid turbo and MAXD Stage 3+: our own turbo and a new calibration lifted the headline figures to 205bhp and 260Nm.

“The Ford factory turbo was reaching its limits and holding the rest of the setup back”

Swapping the OE turbo for one of our own X-26 hybrid units opened up a whole host of options. Alongside it went an R-Sport crossover pipe, uprated intercooler and induction kit, Pumaspeed large-bore silicone turbo elbow and boost hoses, and a Milltek downpipe and cat-back exhaust. It is still a fairly stock-looking set-up, and that amount of grunt from something so small, with the internals exactly as they left the line, is what impressed the magazine most. Simon and Tony at Pumaspeed were quick to praise how unstressed the engine is in standard form, and both felt a similar engine would not look out of place as the power plant of a future Fiesta ST.

Under the bonnet: R-Sport induction, crossover pipe and silicone hoses feeding the X-26 hybrid turbo

What the 205bhp kit contains

205bhp is as easy as fitting the Pumaspeed 205 kit to a totally stock engine. The Tiny Titan runs the Pumaspeed, Milltek and R-Sport hardware below, and every part is available on its own or as the complete Stage 3R package.

• MAXD EcoBoost Stage 3+ remap (workshop fitted, or via the MAXD flash programmer)
• X-26 billet hybrid turbocharger (exchange)
• R-Sport high-flow vertical intercooler kit, 55mm core
• R-Sport Stage 3 cold air induction system (C.A.I.S.): Stage 1 air filter, smooth silicone air filter induction pipe, R-Sport Ultimate large-bore crossover pipe and large-bore turbo induction pipe
• Milltek Sport de-cat downpipe
• Milltek Sport cat-back exhaust system (resonated, as fitted to the Tiny Titan; a louder non-resonated version is also available)

The complete 205 kit laid out. Click to see it full size.

Stage 3R package, 205bhp →

The rest of the car

Tech spec, as printed in Fast Ford

Engine: 995cc EcoBoost three-cylinder, 12v DOHC, factory internals. Pumaspeed X-26 hybrid turbo, R-Sport crossover pipe, induction kit and intercooler, Pumaspeed large-bore silicone turbo elbow and boost hoses, Milltek de-cat downpipe and resonated cat-back, MAXD Stage 3+ calibration. Power: 205bhp and 260Nm.

Transmission: factory gearbox, clutch and open differential. Pumaspeed were honest with the magazine that, when wringing the very last ounce out of the car, a subtle crunch can sometimes be felt between first and second, something that can also be felt on standard cars, and this example has kept its factory clutch and gearbox throughout.

Suspension: Bilstein B14 coilovers, Eibach anti-roll bars front and rear, Breedt rear engine mount. The standard rubber bushes were kept on purpose: they cope with the power and keep the ride supple and compliant.

Brakes: Pumaspeed Stage 2 280mm discs up front with factory calipers and stainless braided lines all round; factory discs and calipers at the rear. Wheels and tyres: 7.5x18in Ultralite alloys on 215/35x18 Goodyear Eagle F1.

Exterior: Fiesta Zetec S in white with a Triple R splitter, Zunsport grille and a Fiesta ST rear end and diffuser. Interior: completely standard Zetec S trim. Hardly scene-busting, as the magazine put it, but it all works together and makes the car look that much more purposeful.

The details: Ultralite wheels and PS 205 decals, Triple R splitter, Zunsport grille, ST rear end, Milltek tailpipes and the diffuser that says it all

Why they called it the Tiny Titan

The team at Pumaspeed christened the car the Tiny Titan and the name stuck, because it really does punch above its weight. It has been clocked at a staggering 153mph on a private road, and this diddy three-cylinder makes 77bhp more than it left the factory with, and 25bhp more than a standard, range-topping Fiesta ST. Not bad for a 1.0-litre.

Chris Wallbank’s photos for Fast Ford: the Tiny Titan at the Pumaspeed workshop in Wakefield

The driver

The largely finished car was handed to Tony’s son Daniel, then eighteen and a Ford tuning specialist at Pumaspeed, making him the owner of one of the most remarkable tuned Fiestas in the UK. It was his first Ford. The toughest part of the build, he told the magazine, was the design of the new hybrid turbo; the best part was seeing the numbers on the dyno.

What next? Expecting much more from the standard internals would be foolish, so any further engine work means forged rods and suitably specced pistons. For now, the magazine suggested, we should just enjoy the fact that this car exists.

On the move: 205bhp and 260Nm in a car that weighs next to nothing

Build your own Tiny Titan

Every part on this car is available from Pumaspeed, DIY by mail order or fitted in our Wakefield workshop. The three staged packages for the Fiesta Mk7.5 1.0 EcoBoost take you from a remap and intake to the full X-26 hybrid turbo kit that made this car what it is.

Stage 1R, 160bhp, from £419 →Stage 2R, 170bhp, from £1,840 →Stage 3R, 205bhp, from £2,649 →All Fiesta Mk7.5 1.0 tuning parts →

All Pumaspeed news & features →