Racing Puma's exclusivity could attract
8 September 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan.
Take one standard, unsuspecting Puma. Feed it steroids, beef up its engine, muck around with its suspension and add massive low-profile tyres. Then let it out on a public road with special 'Ford Racing' decals.
Whoops ...!
The Racing Puma is something else, though we're not at the moment sure just what. Or for where.
Or who ... except the ultimate boy-racer poseur?
Because it surely attracts attention as it prowls down Main Street, or challenges the Golf Club official's more mundane chariot. Maybe denting his pride.
The base Puma is a gorgeous car, maybe one of Ford's nicest creations of the decade.
With its original running gear of a 1.7-litre engine and the best-balanced suspension setup in the business, this Fiesta-based little cat has gained only accolades from writers and owners alike since it first purred out of our TV screens with the rebuilt 'Bullit' ad. We were among those impressed.
When we drove the 1.4-litre version earlier this year, the lesser power did dull the car a little, but only to those who regularly drove the original on its limits. The 1.4 was fine and fun to most of us, and easier on both the purchasing and insurance pockets.
In reality, Puma is a two-seater with accommodation behind for little more than preteens. Indeed, if we owned one we'd be inclined to fold those seats forward permanently and make use of the extended luggage space.
The front seats in the standard cars are hugging and supportive, without restricting. All controls are, as in Fiesta, easy to find and precise to use.
The instrumentation and dashboard are pure Fiesta, with a nice touch in silvering around the place. The gearshift knob is in fact solid brushed aluminium, which looks great. But freezes the fingers when starting out on a frosty morning.
Driving Puma has become legendary for satisfaction, and brings joy back to driving even in these congested days. We would much prefer to live with this cat than any of the small open-tops that are supposed to be what upwardly mobile mobile-holders aspire to.
Precise steering, balanced handling, response to accelerator or brake that is just so ... and when the 1.7-litre is let rev, there's a little tingle as just a taste of a growwl comes forth.
Fun. Yeah.
So to the steroid-fed Racing Puma. Here all is the same, apart from the exterior details we started off with, until the door is opened.
The material trim is bright blue, even extended to cloth covering on the steering wheel, in a round version of the fingerless mitten.
The seats are special racing yokes, their shells thinly padded and space across the seat only for those of us with trim bums (We know friends who would be left suspended from the upcurved edges).
Then ...
... well, then nothing really ... the rest is the Puma we know and love.
Until we light up and put the beast in gear. Then all gets quite different.
The suspension is as close to the feel of a Formula One car as any of us are likely to get to. The steering is substantially heavier than the normal car, thanks to those massive wide 17" tyres.
And the 'go' factor is higher, because though it's still a 1.7-litre engine, they've made it growl a lot more. To the tune of 150bhp. ABS and traction control are standard.
Kitten Puma is now a full fat, mean cat.
It IS still fun, but by God you have to hold on harder. And if you're planning a cross-country trip on this island, it's perhaps not the one to go with, because you'll feel every bog-road undulation as a thump in the behind. Which gets tiring around the backroads of where we live.
But it will be a lively drive, and if this is your style, Racing Puma will claw a place in your heart.
On a decent road, it becomes an interesting drive. We could certainly see it as an option shifting from Paris to Nice on autoroutes with good surfaces.
But really, the place for the Racing Puma is where its name indicates: on the race track.
We don't see many of them being sold here in Ireland, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone did take one for Mondello duty. Anyway, only 20 are available to this market. That kind of exclusivity may well sell some extra.
Price 28,500.
Puma facts: 1.4- and 1.7-litre petrol; 5-speed manual; Sports coupe; price range £16,035-£28,500.
