Farewell, Sleeper: Ford Pulls the Plug on the Fusion Sport

It doesn’t come as a surprise, but it still hurts to learn that Ford’s modern-day take on the ’60s family performance sedan will die with the 2019 model year.

While the automaker’s doomed Fusion nameplate will live on for 2020, the brawny, all-wheel drive Sport variant will not. The automaker confirmed the model’s discontinuation on Monday, meaning performance-minded Blue Oval breeders must now turn their attention (and lust) to the brand’s ST-badged crossovers.

Ford dropped the Focus and its warmer variants in May of 2018, with the pint-sized Fiesta and its ST hot hatch alter ego meeting the same fate last month. There’ll still be some 2019 models kicking around for some time, no doubt. However, if your lifestyle demands called for real seating for five, the Fusion Sport offered serious performance and under-the-radar looks for an after-delivery price of $41,010.

Indeed, that’s nearly six grand more than a loaded Titanium model, but twin-turbocharged V6 horsepower and AWD comes at a cost (current offers show a $1,500 lease incentive, btw). And the Fusion Sport, despite its outdated interior, was indeed a blast to drive.

CarsDirect noticed the widely expected discontinuation while poring over 2020 Fusion order guides. When contacted, a Ford spokesperson confirmed that the Sport goes the way of LaserDisc for MY2020. Like other automakers, the company says it wants to simplify its lineup by reducing build configurations. With that decision comes painful eliminations like this. Models like the Fusion Sport and Taurus SHO may not have been very popular, but they did enliven an increasingly dull, utility-centric vehicle landscape.

Appearing for the 2017 model year, the Fusion Sport borrowed the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 from its F-150 stablemate, sending its 325 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque to all four (19-inch) wheels through a six-speed automatic. The setup was a potent one for the midsize sedan, though Ford chose not to go way out and wild with the Sport’s outward appearance. Maybe it flew too far under the radar.

Certainly, the Fusion Sport will be an item for hunters of used performance car deals to seek out in the coming years. As for the Fusion itself, the flagging model may stage a limited return for 2021, but the sedan as we know it is toast at some point that year. Ford claims the company might re-use the nameplate in the future, but don’t get your hopes up for a vehicle with a trunk.

[Images: Ford, Steph Willems/TTAC]