Ford Motor Company used the Zetec name on a variety of inline four-cylinder automobile engines.

[1] The company used the name widely in European advertising and later introduced it to the North American market with the Contour.

The Zetec name was so widely recognized that Ford decided to apply it to other high-tech four-cylinder engines.

[citation needed] Ford also used the "Zetec" name for a trim level designation in certain markets.

[2] The 3.5-litre Zetec R V8 was used by the Benetton team in 1994, and powered Michael Schumacher to his first World Championship title.

The "Zeta" name was dropped in favour of "Zetec" when Italian car maker Lancia threatened to sue Ford for trademark infringement.

The fuel economy penalty with the freewheeling system (around 1–2%) was considered to be too great for European engines.

Early versions of the engine had a problem with sticking valves — far more evident in the UK (and in cold climates), where a driving style with earlier gear changes is more common than on the Continent — unless a special Ford formulation of oil was used.

This version, the Zetec-R, had a two-piece crankcase which helped damp out noise and vibration, conventional tappets with shims rather than hydraulic ones, and longer connecting rods with a lower piston compression height.

It was also used in the Focus ST170 with a cylinder head modified by Cosworth with Variable Valve Timing on the inlet cam and had 170 bhp (127 kW; 172 PS).

Over time, pieces of the lip will break off, releasing plastic fragments into the cooling system.

[citation needed] The advanced Zetec-SE (sometimes badged as Zetec-S) was developed in collaboration with Yamaha and Mazda, under the Sigma codename.

In 2000, Ford of Brazil developed a cheaper version of the Zetec-S engine with single cam and 8 valves driven by a chain.

On the other hand, it has a superb torque output thanks to the addition of the Rocam (roller finger camshaft) feature.

In October 2004 a newer bi-fuel version was introduced labeled "1.6 L Flex", capable of running on both petrol and ethanol, even mixed at any proportion.

In 1998, Ford of Britain applied the Zetec name to a trim level in the Fiesta range, replacing the Si.

Since then, the Zetec name has become a key staple of the Ford trim level hierarchy, serving as the sports-styled variant in most ranges.