Motor Car History
 Veteran - Vintage - Classic - Modern
Motor car history
Understanding the Automobile
Toggle Navigation
  • Home
  • Makes and models
  • Motor car History
  • Innovations
  • Trivia
  • Help Guide
  • links
  • You are here:  
  • Motor Car
  • Make and Model
  • F
  • Ford (europe)
  • Ford Puma (1997-2001)

Ford Puma

 1997 to 2001
Ford Puma history
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Production 1997–2001
Assembly Niehl, Germany
Class Small Coupé
Body style 3-door hatchback coupé
Layout FF layout
Platform Ford B platform
Engine Ford Zetec-SE
Transmission 5-speed IB5 Manual
Related Ford Fiesta

 

 The Ford Puma was a small sports coupé produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1997 to 2001 (although some were first registered in the UK as late as 2002),for sale in Europe. The Puma was built exclusively at Ford's Niehl plant in Cologne, Germany.

The cost for a new Puma in the UK from a dealer was between £12,280 - £22,945 depending on the accessories, styling and model chosen.

Dimensions

Fuel Capacity 40 litres
Weight 1034kg
Length 3984mm
Width 1837mm
Height 1344mm
Wheelbase 2446mm
Turning Circle 10m

Technical details

All Pumas are front-engined, front-wheel-drive, 3-door coupés with 4 seats. They came with 15-inch (380 mm) alloy wheels as standard, (although the Ford Racing Puma was equipped with 17-inch (430 mm) alloy wheels), with front disc and rear drum brakes. The car was based on the Mark 4 Ford Fiesta, with new engines (codeveloped with Yamaha), a new body, stiffer suspension and close-ratio gearbox, among other changes.

The Puma was available with four engine options:

1.4 litre (1997-2000)

Power 88 bhp
Top Speed 112 mph
0-60 mph 10.8 secs
Torque 125 Nm
CO2 Emissions 171 g/km
Euro Emissions Standard 2
Miles Per Tank 343 miles

1.6 litre (2000-2001)

Power 101 bhp
Top Speed 118 mph
0-60 mph 10.1 secs
Torque 145 Nm
CO2 Emissions 171 g/km
Euro Emissions Standard 4
Miles Per Tank 334 miles

1.7 litre VCT

Power 123 bhp
Top Speed 126 mph
0-60 mph 9.2 secs
Torque 157 Nm
CO2 Emissions 178 g/km
Euro Emissions Standard 3
Miles Per Tank 334 miles

Also a Tickford tuned 1.7 litre VCT which was only used in the Ford Racing Puma, each of which used Ford's 16v Sigma engines branded as Zetec-SE. Additionally, the 1.7-litre engines used Nikasil cylinder plating, which required a specific grade of oil (5W30 semi-synthetic) to minimise mechanical wear.

All 1.7-litre-engined Pumas were equipped with low speed traction control and anti-lock brakes. The anti-lock braking system was optional in the 1.4 Puma.

Ford Puma range

 Engines

Engine Power Torque 0–100 km/h Top speed
1.4 (1388cm³) 16V 91 PS (67 kW; 90 hp) @5500 rpm 125 N·m (92 lb·ft) 11.9 s 180 km/h (112 mph)
1.6 (1596cm³) 16V 104 PS (76 kW; 103 hp) @6000 rpm 145 N·m (107 lb·ft) 10.4 s 190 km/h (118 mph)
1.7 (1679 cm³) 16V VCT 125 PS (92 kW; 123 hp) @6300 rpm 157 N·m (116 lb·ft) 9.2 s 203 km/h (126 mph)
1.7 (1679 cm³) 16V VCT 155 PS (114 kW; 153 hp) @n/d rpm 162 N·m (119 lb·ft) 7.9 s n/d

Special edition variants in United Kingdom markets

Millennium

Quantity Produced: 1000

Quantity Remaining: 755 as of 2011

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 an 'Alchemy Blue' (dark/navy blue) leather interior with Recaro seats. A numbered badge and keyring were available upon purchase from Ford, but the cars were not automatically numbered.

The Ford Ka and Ford Focus also received the same award, and were also produced in the same quantity and paintwork, but with a black leather interior.

 Black

Quantity Produced: 1600

Quantity Remaining: 1,381 as of 2011

Years available: 2000(X) to 2001(51)

The Puma Black featured a 'Midnight Black' (dark grey) leather interior, Panther Black paintwork and Ford's '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

Quantity Remaining: 1,769 as of 2011

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 'Midnight Black' (dark grey) leather interior, 6 disc CD changer and multispoke alloys similar to those featured on the Fiesta Zetec-S.

Ford Racing Puma

 Ford Racing Puma specs

Power 152 bhp
Top Speed 126 mph
0-60 mph 7.9 secs
Torque 162 Nm
CO2 Emissions 178 g/km
Euro Emissions Standard 2
Miles Per Tank 299 miles

Quantity Produced: 500 (all numbered on inlet manifold)

Years available: 1999(V) to 2001(51)

The Ford Racing Puma was the name eventually given to Ford's concept Puma, The Puma RS which was first unveiled to the public at the 1999 Geneva Motorshow.At the time Ford were keen to stress that this was no mere styling job and the idea was to transfer the know-how and technology learned directly from Ford Puma race and rally programmes to a road car. It was created by the Ford Rally specialist team at Boreham. The strictly limited production run was initially pencilled to run for 1000 units, with 500 destined for the German market, and 500 for the UK. All conversions were carried out by Tickford, Daventry UK. In the end, only the 500 destined for the UK market were produced and.

Ford Racing Puma engine

Less than half of the 500 cars were actually sold directly to customers, with the vehicle's high price (£23,000 when new) often cited as a reason, as rival performance cars such as the Subaru Impreza (with an additional 50+ BHP/Turbo, 4 Wheel Drive and rallying pedigree) were being offered for a maximum of £21,000 with the optional Pro Drive pack. 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. The lack of demand when brand new has actually paid off in the longer-term, as the rarity of the Racing Puma has allowed it to maintain an increased value over the standard Puma.

 Racing

Rallying

Ford produced a Ford Puma Kit Car which was designed to be competed in rallying. The Puma's technical details included a Zetec SE all alloy engine with 4 cylinders and 16 valves at 1596 cc, power over 200 bhp (150 kW) at 9000 rpm, front wheel drive via a Hewland 6-speed sequential gearbox, limited slip differential, dynamic front suspension using MacPherson struts with adjustable spring platforms, Ford Racing rear trailing arm beam with adjustable dynamic suspension, Alcon front brakes with 355 mm (14.0 in) diameter ventilated discs using four-piston calipers, Alcon 260 mm (10 in) diameter solid disc rear brakes with two piston calipers, a welded steel safety roll cage, and front and rear wheel arches and bumpers in composite. The fuel tank was a 55 litre capacity FIA ‘bag’ tank located beneath rear floor. Wheels were Tarmac 7” x 17” aluminium wheels or 6” x 15” aluminium wheels for gravel.

 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.

Ford Racing Puma rear view

Ford (europe)
Return
Ford Prefect E93A (1938–1949) 67 / 96 Ford RS200 (1984-1986)
Send
Print
More information on
Ford Puma car Range and specs from 1997 to 2001

Related

motor car on you tube

Categories
Ford (europe) | Ford
Vehicles launched in 1997 | Ford Zetec | Steve McQueen | Race Cars | Sports Cars

Technical

  •  

    Specifications of the Ford Puma
    Ford Puma: 1.4 i 16V (1998-2000) 1.6 i 16V (2000-2001) 1.7 i 16V (1997-2001)
    Engine:  4-cylinder in-line engine (four-stroke)
    displacement:  1388 cc 1596 cm³ 1679 cc
    Bore × stroke:  76 × 76.5 mm 79 × 81.4 mm 80 × 83.5 mm
    Power at 1 / min:  66 kW 
    (90 hp) 
    at 5500
    76 kW 
    (103 hp) 
    at 6000
    92 kW 
    (125 hp) 
    at 6300
    Max. Torque at 1 / min:  123 Nm at 4000 145 Nm at 4000 157 Nm at 4500
    Fuel supply:  Electronic injection
    Valve control:  DOHC , timing belt
    Cooling:  water cooling
    Transmission:  5 speed transmission
    Front suspension:  MacPherson Struts , wishbones
    Rear suspension:  Twist-beam axle, coil springs
    brakes:  Front discs (Ø 239 mm) until year 2000, drums rear, ABS

    From year 2000 front discs (Ø 258 mm), rear drum, ABS

    Body:  Sheet steel, self-supporting
    Track front / rear:  1450/1410 mm
    Wheelbase:  2445 mm
    Length:  3984 mm
    Empty weight:  1035-1050 kg
    maximum speed:  180 km / h 190 km / h 203 km / h
    0-100 km / h:  11.9 s 11.0 s 9.2 s
    Consumption (liters (city / out-of-town / total [ECE]) / 100 kilometers):  (9.5 | 5.9 | 7.2) Great (9,6 | 6,0 | 7,3) Great (9,7 | 6,1 | 7,4) Great

Ford Europe models

  • Ford Escort
  • Ford Fiesta
  • Ford Focus
  • Ford RS
  • Ford ST
  • Ford capri
  • Ford Cortina
  • Ford Cougar
  • Ford Granada
  • Ford Galaxie
  • Ford Transit
  • Ford Anglia
  • Ford Consul
  • Ford Mondeo
  • Ford Prefect
  • Ford Taunus
  • Ford Zephyr
  • Ford Zodiac
  • Ford Sierra

Ford Engine Types

  • Ford Diesel Engines
  • Ford Zetec
  • Ford CVH
  • Ford Duratec
  • Ford Duratorq
  • Ford EcoBoost
  • Ford Kent Engine
  • Ford Pinto
  • Ford V4 engines
  • Ford Essex V4 engine
  • Essex V6 engine
  • Ford V6 engines
  • Ford Cologne cars V6
  • Ford V8 Engines
  • Ford 335 V8
  • Ford inline-4 engines
  • Ford Straight 6 Engines

Ford USA Models

  • Ford Bronco
  • Ford Country Squire
  • Ford Econoline
  • Ford Mustang
  • Ford Ranchero
  • Ford Thunderbird

Read more in this section

Ford Escort RS1700T (1980-1982)
Ford Escort RS1700T (1980-1982)
Read more...
Ford Cortina Mk I (1962–1966)
Ford Cortina Mk I (1962–1966)
Read more...
Ford Prefect E93A (1938–1949)
Ford Prefect E93A (1938–1949)
Read more...

  • You are here:  
  • Motor Car
  • Make and Model
  • F
  • Ford (europe)

Back to Top

© 2021 Motor Car History

X

Right Click

No right click