Ford Puma

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)^[1], 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.ll 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. Pumas used a choice of four engine configurations: 1.4-litre 90 bhp (67 kW; 91 PS) , 1.6-litre 103 bhp (77 kW; 104 PS) , 1.7-litre VCT 125 PS (92 kW; 123 hp), or the tuned 1.7-litre VCT 155 PS (114 kW; 153 hp) (only used in the Ford Racing Puma),^[3] each of which used Ford's 16v Sigma engines branded as Zetec-S. 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 to the 1.4 Pumas.
Weighing approximately 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) without optional accessories,^[4] the 1.7 125 PS version accelerated from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in 8.8 seconds, and could accelerate from 30 to 70 mph (48 to 112 km/h) in 8.8 seconds.

Discontinuation

The Puma was only sold in Europe. Production ceased in 2001 although sale of stock vehicles continued into 2002. Ford did not replace it with another small coupé, and instead introduced the Ford StreetKa, 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 rumored to be launching in 2009, a year after the new Fiesta based on the Reflex concept car shown in the Detroit Motor Show in 2006.^[10] 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.

Special edition variants in United Kingdom markets

Millennium

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 ^[5] 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
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
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.