If there’s one thing that can be taken as a learning from wandering around cars shows, it’s that things are not always what they seem. Whilst checking out the Fast Car stand at TRAX, I wandered past this Mk5 Fiesta in the centre of the display and initially didn’t pay much attention - it seemed to follow the usual recipe of a drop, smooth bodywork and nice paint. Glancing into the interior though made me double take, instead of the usual standard seats retrimmed or an aftermarket sports set, a single bench spanned the width of the car, much like the classic American cars of the 50s and 60s. This was trimmed in beautiful red leather and completed with lap belts.

I then noticed the dashboard - gone is the standard item and in it’s place sits a completely custom one, loosely based on the mk1 Audi TT. The modern gauges are substituted with classic looking Auto Meters mounted centrally, along with period matching steering wheel, billet door handles and pistol grip gear knob. Even the speaker grilles looks straight out of a 50s Cadillac. The whole thing is almost entirely devoid of switchgear. There are no stalks on the steering column and just a single bank of three toggles to the right of it. The handbrake is now electric, like a lot of modern cars.

Moving from the interior to the engine bay and it’s equally as impressive there. A 1.7 Puma engine sits in a pristine candy red bay, fed by Kawasaki ZZR600 carbs (not throttle bodies). The brake master cylinder is gone, replaced by small reservoirs and a pedal box. Custom alloy tanks replace the plastic ones and a complete wiring tuck ensures the whole thing is obsessively neat. As a final detail the slam panel is trimmed in the same red leather.

Externally, you start to notice things as you walk round. The arches are wider than usual, custom fabricated. LED bulbs in the headlights, custom round bar grilles and completely shaved doors without handles. Cup style mirrors on custom baseplates. Then even more subtleties - the fuel filler flap no longer has the notch for your finger, it’s totally flat. The side repeaters are now flush fit LEDs.

The whole package was constructed with flawless craftsmanship and beautifully thought out and executed. Easily the car of the show for me. On my return home I was able to find out a little more about it from this Fast Car feature, and obtain the spec list which I’ve duplicated below.