Ford Puma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ford Puma was a small coupe produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1997 to 2001. It came in four versions over the years: 1.4 Zetec-SE (90 bhp), 1.6 Zetec-SE (103 bhp), 1.7 Zetec-SE VVT (125 bhp), and 1.7 Ford Racing Zetec-SE (155 bhp). The car was based on the Ford Fiesta with new engines (from Yamaha), a new body and modified suspension, as well as other changes. 1.7 Pumas came with both low speed TCS (traction control system) and ABS (anti-lock brakes system), 1.4 Pumas had an option of anti-lock brakes.

Weighing approximately 1,050 kg (2,293 lb), the relatively decent amount of power was sufficient to give the car exciting performance. The 1.7 version accelerated from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 99 km/h) in 8.6 seconds, and could accelerate from 30 to 70 mph (48 to 112 km/h) in 8.8 seconds.

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 launch campaign that featured the late Steve McQueen. The original UK television commercial used clips from the movie Bullitt and cut McQueen into the modern setting of a Puma in San Francisco.

The Ford Racing Puma was created in a limited run of just 500 by Tickford, Daventry UK and used a modified version of the 1.7 Zetec-SE engine. Other modifications included a wider track front and rear, disc brakes to the rear and new larger discs up front, Sparco bucket seats, Alcantara trim, 17" rims. This version was only made available in right hand drive to the UK market. All 500 cars were produced in Ford Imperial Blue, which was not otherwise available on Pumas to the UK market.

The Puma was only sold in Europe and was supposedly replaced by the Ford StreetKa, which is based on the Fiesta just as the Puma was. The StreetKa also borrowed the Puma's transmission and suspension. The discontinuation of the Puma seemed to herald the end of the small coupe market in Europe, with the Vauxhall (or Opel) Tigra entering a short hiatus later on, as well as similar models from other manufacturers.

[edit] Awards

Was Top Gear's car of the year for 1997 for the incredible feeling and driving sensation. (by Tiff Needel) [1]

Ford Motor Company v • d • e</span> Platforms \| Engines \| Vehicles \| Category
Current and future models
Cars	Activa \| Crown Victoria/Police Interceptor \| Fairlane \| Falcon / FPV models \| Fiesta / Ikon / Ford Fusion / EcoSport \| Five Hundred \| Focus / C-MAX \| Freestar \| Freestyle \| Fusion \| Galaxy \| Ka / Sportka / Streetka \| Laser / Lynx / Tierra \| Mondeo / Metrostar \| Mustang \| S-MAX
Trucks/SUVs	Cargo \| Courier (Brazilian)/Bantam \| E-Series/Chateau Wagon \| Econovan \| Edge \| Escape/Hybrid \| Expedition \| Explorer \| Everest/Endeavour \| F-Series (includes Super Duty) \| Pronto \| Ranger/Courier \| Territory \| Tourneo \| Tourneo Connect \| Transit \| Transit Connect \| Van (Taiwanese)
Historic models
1900s	Model A/AC \| Model B \| Model C \| Model F \| Model K \| Model N \| Model R \| Model S \| Model T
1910s-1920s	Model TT \| Model A
1930s-1940s	Ford Model B \| Ford Model Y \| Ford Model C \| Ford Model CX \| Ford Junior Popular \| Ford Junior De Luxe \| Ford Köln \| Rheinland \| Ford Eifel \| Ford Model 7Y \| Ford Model 7W \| Ford Anglia \| Ford Prefect \| Country Squire \| Ford Meteor \| Ford Pilot \| Ford Vedette \| Ford Prefect
1950s	Consul \| Country Sedan \| Del Rio \| Edsel (Brand) \| Fairlane \| Galaxie \| Mainline \| Parklane \| Popular \| Ranchero \| Squire \| Taunus \| Thunderbird \| Versailles \| Zephyr
1960s	Bronco \| Capri \| Corcel \| Corsair \| Cortina \| Escort \| Falcon \| GT40 \| LTD \| Torino
1970s	Elite \| Fairmont \| Granada \| Maverick \| Pinto
1980s	Aerostar \| Bantam \| Bronco II \| Del Rey \| Escort \| EXP \| Festiva \| Laser \| LTD Crown Victoria \| Orion \| Probe \| Scorpio \| Sierra \| Taurus \| Telstar \| Tempo \| Verona
1990s	Aspire \| Contour \| Cougar \| Maverick \| Puma \| Windstar \| ZX2
2000s	Excursion \| GT \| Thunderbird \| Freestar

<- Previous	Ford car timeline, European market, 1980s-present - [edit]
Type	1980s										1990s										2000s
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
City car																	Ka
Supermini				Fiesta II						Fiesta III						Fiesta IV				Fiesta V			Fiesta VI / Fusion					Fiesta VI
Small family car	Escort III / Orion I						Escort IV / Orion II				Escort V / Orion III			Escort Vb		Escort VI			Focus I						Focus II
Large family car			Sierra											Mondeo I				Mondeo II			Mondeo III							Mondeo IV
Executive car	Granada II					Scorpio I / Granada III									Scorpio II

Coupé	Capri																	Puma
										Probe										Cougar
Compact MPV																								Focus C-MAX
Large MPV																											S-MAX
																Galaxy I											Galaxy II

Ford cars made for the European market
Köln \| Y \| Rheinland \| Eifel \| C Ten \| 7Y \| 7W \| Prefect \| Anglia \| Pilot \| Zephyr \| Consul \| Squire \| Taunus Vedette \| Comète \| Cortina \| Popular \| Classic \| Corsair \| Escort \| Capri \| Granada \| Fiesta \| Sierra \| RS200 \| Orion \| Scorpio \| Probe \| Mondeo \| Galaxy \| Ka \| Puma \| Focus \| Cougar \| Maverick \| Fusion \| GT \| Focus C-MAX \| S-MAX
Edit this template