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General Information (Puma)
The Ford Puma was a small coupé produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1997 to 2001, for sale in Europe. The Puma was solely built at Ford's Niehl plant in Cologne, Germany. Information complied from other sources and as such has not been checked for accurancy.
Please also see the separate articles that have been compiled with known information by Pumapeople members over the years.
Contents
Technical details
All Pumas are front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 3-door (driver, passenger and rear hatchback) coupés with 4 seats. They have 15 inch alloy wheels, and front disc and rear drum brakes.
Puma came in four versions over the years:1.4 90 bhp (borrowed from the Fiesta), new 1.6 103 bhp and new 1.7 VCT 125 PS and 1.7 Ford Racing VCT 155 PS, each of which powered by Ford's 16v Sigma engines branded as Zetec. The car was based on the Ford Fiesta floorpan with engines (from Yamaha),a new body and modified suspension, as well as other changes. 1.7 Pumas came with Ford's Variable Camshaft Timing (VCT) system, and both low speed traction control system and ABS. ABS was not fitted as standard to the 1.4 Pumas, but was available as an option.
Weighing 1,039kg(2,285lb), without optional accessories, the 1.7 125 PS version accelerated from 0 to 62MPH (0 to 100km/h) in 8.8 seconds, and could accelerate from 30 to 70MPH (48 to 112km/h) in 8.8 seconds. Top speed, of the 1.7 version, was recorded at 126mph by Autocar magazine in 1997 (0-60mph recorded in 8.6 seconds).
Special edition variants
During the Ford Puma's production, four special edition variants were produced in limited quantities for the UK market.
Ford Racing Puma (ST160)
Quantity Produced: 500 (all numbered on inlet manifold) Years available: 1999(V) to 2000(X)
The Ford Racing Puma was created by the Ford Rally specialist team at Boreham, lead by Peter Beattie. The production run was initially pencilled to run for 1000 units, 500 destined for the German market, 500 for the UK. All conversions were carried out by Tickford, Daventry UK. The vehicle featured a modified version of the 1.7 Zetec-S engine which produced 155BHP and 119ft.lb of torque. It could also accelerate to 62MPH in 7.9 seconds. As well as this, there were other modifications including wider bodywork and tracks front and rear, aluminium front wings, disc brakes to the rear and larger race-spec Alcon discs/4 pot calipers up front, Sparco bucket seats, blue Alcantara trim, 17" Speedline rims. Ultimately, Racing Puma was only sold in the right-hand drive format to the UK market. All were produced in Ford Racing Blue paint, (same as the paint used on Focus RS), which was otherwise not available on Pumas in the UK market. Less than half were actually sold to customers due to the vehicle's high price/bhp often cited as a reason for this. The lower than anticipated demand saw Ford offering Racing Pumas to senior managers through their MRC scheme, which enabled cars to continue being registered and converted.
Millennium Edition
Quantity Produced: 1000
Years available: 1999(V) to 2000(X)
The Ford Millennium Edition cars were produced to commemorate the Millennium Products Award from the Design Council in 1999 for being 'The first Ford in Britain designed solely on computer and in record time.'
The Millennium Edition Puma featured eye catching Zinc Yellow paintwork, and a dark blue leather interior with Recaro seats. A numbered badge and keyring were available upon purchase from Ford, but the cars were not automatically numbered.
Black
Quantity Produced: 1600
Years available: 2000(X) to 2001(51)
The Puma Black featured as standard; black leather interior, Panther Black paintwork, air-conditioning and Fords 'F1' style alloys. The original quantity of the Puma Black was meant to be only 1000, but as the edition proved to be popular, an additional 600 were produced.
Thunder
Quantity Produced: 1000 each in Moondust Silver and Magnum Grey
Years available: 2000(X) to 2002(52)
These were among the final 2000 pumas produced. Although Moondust Silver was available throughout the whole of the puma's production run, Magnum Grey was only available on the Thunder Edition.
All of the Thunder editions featured a grey leather interior, 6 disc CD changer, air-conditioning and multispoke alloys similar to those featured on the Fiesta Zetec-S.
Racing
Rallying
Kit Car variant
Ford also produced a Ford Puma Kit Car which was designed to be competed in rallying. The Puma's technical details: Engine Zetec SE all alloy, 4 cylinders, 16 valves, 1596 cc. Power Over 200BHP at 9000 rpm. Transmission Front wheel drive via Hewland 6-speed sequential gearbox. Limited slip differential. Suspension Front: Dynamic suspension MacPherson struts with adjustable spring platforms. Rear: Ford Racing trailing arm beam with adjustable dynamic suspension Brakes Front: Alcon 355mm diameter ventilated discs with four piston callipers Rear: Alcon 260mm diameter solid discs with two piston callipers.
Body Shell Welded steel safety roll cage. Front and rear wheel arches and bumpers in composite. Fuel Tank 55 Litre capacity FIA ‘bag’ tank located beneath rear floor. Wheels Tarmac: 7” x 17” aluminium wheels. Gravel: 6” x 15” aluminium wheels.
2008 saw Luke Pinder contest the R2 class of the British Rally Championship in a Super 1400 Ford Puma.
Style and advertising
Stylistically, the Puma followed Ford's New Edge design strategy, as first seen in the 1996 Ford Ka. While not as controversial as the Ka when it first appeared, the Puma did achieve critical acclaim for its well-proportioned and cat-like design cues.
The Puma was memorable for its pan-European launch campaign that featured Steve McQueen. The original UK television advertisement used clips from the movie Bullitt and cut McQueen into the modern setting of a Puma in San Francisco. In late 2004, Ford once again used the McQueen footage for the first 2005 Ford Mustang commercial in the U.S. Both Commercials were directed by UK Director Paul Street, and won many advertising industry awards, featuring in all time top 10 ad charts.
Discontinuation
The Puma was only sold in Europe. Production ceased in December 2001, although sale of stock vehicles continued into 2002. Ford did not replace it with another small coupé, and instead introduced the Ford Sport Ka and Street Ka, a two-seater convertible based on the Fiesta just as the Puma was. The StreetKa also borrowed the Puma's transmission and suspension.
Next generation
A new Ford Puma was rumoured to be launching in 2009, a year after the new Fiesta based on the Ford Reflex concept car shown in the Detroit Motor Show in 2006. But nobody with any sense believes Auto Express. More recent rumours of a new Ford Puma put the release date further into the future, but no specifics on the specifications or the estimated year have been quoted to date.
Awards
- 1997 - Named Top Gear (1997 TV series)' Car of the Year for 'the incredible feeling and driving sensation.' Video: Top Gear Car Of The Year 1997 feature MPEG video featuring Tiff Needell driving a Ford Puma
- 1999 - Design Council Millennium Products award for 'The first Ford in Britain designed solely on computer and in record time.'
- 2001 - What Car's Used Sports Car Of The Year- Ford Puma 1.7
- 2004 - What Car's Best Used Sporting Car of the Year Under £10,000 - Ford Puma 1.7
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