FORD RACING PUMA
There have been many fast Fords, but the Racing Puma may be the oddest of the bunch. It never technically raced, for starters, and while its body was significantly pumped up over standard, it used the same 1.7-litre engine as standard Pumas, with only the lightest of upgrades.
It also didn’t sell particularly well. Ford planned to make 1,000, cut that to 500, then still had to sell some of those internally to make sure every Racing Puma found a home. The reason? A £23k asking price. That would seem extortionate for a 153bhp hot hatch now, never mind in 1999. Especially when a 30bhp-lighter Puma 1.7 sold for £10k less. Now, the price difference is even more stark. While you can pick up a scruffy but usable Puma 1.7 for under £1k, you’ll pay six or seven times that for a similar Racing Puma.
What made the Puma so expensive new was the burlier bespoke bodywork. It was fitted by Tickford, and for the large part was grafted on top of the standard Puma’s panels, as opposed to replacing them. Which also means Racing Pumas can effectively rust from the inside out, meaning you should spend as much as you can afford on a second-hand one to avoid some expensive restoration further down the line. The nicest ones fetch £15k.
The wider bodywork accommodated more sophisticated suspension, while the brakes were fairly hardcore, too. Alcon helped Ford develop a four-piston braking system apparently capable of over 1g of stopping force. In comparison, the engine barely changed. While 180bhp or more had been touted, the project’s swelling costs saw this drop to 153bhp via a remap and some cam work, up 30bhp on standard.
The Racing Puma’s grip is seriously impressive, and in just two corners, you have utter trust in the car beneath you, willing to drive it as quickly as you can. Which can seem like a blessing and a curse. I owned a standard Puma and loved its power-to-grip ratio; it was a fun and playful thing, but all at very sensible speeds.
This, in comparison, is unflinchingly focused, a car whose limits are much higher than its donor. All the excuse you need to drive it harder and harder, though. It may be an odd fast Ford, but it’s an extremely addictive one, too.