Thursday 4th September 2014

Ford Racing Puma: Spotted

Well what other limited edition fast Ford are you going to get for £5K?

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It seems that if any car is priced attractively enough, the buyers will come. See the ongoing popularity of the Vauxhall Corsa. But if the price of a car it too high it becomes a hard sell no matter how accomplished it is.

Stance still spot on

The Ford Racing Puma is a perfect case in point. The basic idea was tantalising; take the already superb Puma and ask Tickford to make a proper fast Ford from it. Paint Imperial Blue. Add Alcantara. Job done. Who wouldn't want one of those?

Well at more than £20,000, not enough. Ford wanted to make 1,000 Racings but eventually produced just 500 and even some of those were offloaded to staff. It's CSL syndrome but even more severely. When the standard car is so exceptional, a flagship that is only a little more powerful but considerably more expensive can look poor value initially.

With a couple of modifications and M Division's move to turbos, the M3 CSL's inherent specialness is becoming appreciated. Given the current hoopla over many RS Fords it seems surprising that the very rare, very talented Puma is so affordable. That's relative to other fast Fords of course, not standard Pumas.

Now nobody say Integra Type R

Is it the lack of a Cosworth badge? Is it the initial unpopularity? The lack of a turbo? Either way, the Racing Puma seems to have skirted under the radars of many for a while. Autocar's Ford story in 2012 suggested good cars were £5-£6K, exactly where this car is now.

And far more importantly, it's a truly fantastic driver's car. There never were and never will be any complaints about the way any Puma goes down a good road, the Racing even more so. And look at that peak power figure: 155hp at 7,000rpm. It needs revs, it thrives on revs and that approach is augmented massively by one of the sweetest manual gearboxes around.

It still looks brilliant too. Badged 'Racing' but with a real tarmac rally car vibe the Puma's whole appearance is perfect. The stance, the wheels, the arches, the paint. It's great. And yet still quite pretty.

Plenty of previous with these two also

But the Racing Puma's arch nemesis new remains a threat used: DC2. The first UK Type Rs were faster and, going by most accounts, just that bit more exciting to drive than the Ford. There aren't currently any at the Puma's price point, this Milano Red 'Teg available for just over £4K and a Championship White car up at £7K. Latter looks lovely, doesn't it?

Hmm. The Puma appeals so much as the underdog, the car that was always hampered by its high price and, as a direct consequence, that damn Honda. It's a fine car though. And when Mk5 Escort RS2000s are £7K, there surely isn't a better time to put £5,000 into one.

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FORD RACING PUMA
Engine: 1,679cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive, limited-slip differential
Power (hp): 155@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 119@4,500rpm
MPG: 34.7
CO2: NA
First registered: 2000
Recorded mileage: 84,000
Price new: £21,995
Yours for: £5,500

See the original advert here.

[Source: Autocar]

[melvster]

One car i would love to drive just to see what they are all about; very purposeful looking.

[TNH]

Always loved these. Nice to see the owner hasn't stuck a daft wing on the back either.

[Fastdruid]

The standard version was a hoot to drive in both 1.4 and 1.7 guises (never tried the 1.6), would love to try the FRP.

[JohnClem88]

I had No.234.

Epic car and will have another one day!

[RESTELL]

If you're gonna do it, you may as well modify it!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=3&a...

[razzle99]

I had no idea these were such good value & they look like cracking little cars. The bit that stunned me though was that Mk5 Escort RS2000's are going for £7k !! I drove one of those when they were new & it was utterly rubbish back then...

[Dave G fsi]

Should have worn an RS badge, definitely deserved it and would have sold a lot better to the ford nut purists then too imo

[Gandahar]

I recall one of these getting gobbled up at a very wet Goodwood back in the day by my mate in his original Integra R. Then both cars got gobbled up by an early Subaru Impreza WRX estate thingy that looked tired even then. Both Racing Puma and Integra R are great FWD cars though. Super.

[graham22]

Great looking cars but like my fascination of Lotus Sunbeams, these specials don't rust any less than the normal models.

[court]

graham22 said:

...these specials don't rust any less than the normal models.

Booo, I was hoping someone was going to say the opposite!

[tbc]

i'd put money on the wheel arches being corroded to buggery

[Dave G fsi]

court said:

graham22 said:

...these specials don't rust any less than the normal models.

Booo, I was hoping someone was going to say the opposite!

The mk1 focus RS rust problem is actually worse than the normal model, as ford in their wisdom didn't put any underseal at all on the sills, just paint which obviously gets chipped then the tin worm starts nibbling....

Standard models got underseal as standard

[Skater12]

I used to work for Ford and had 3 Pumas as company cars.
All of them were the 1.7 VCT in different guises, including the "Black" edition.
I actually chose the Puma Black over an X-pack equipped V6 Cougar at the time purely or fun factor alone.

Boot space...rubbish.
Rear seats..... unless you're under 10 years old, have no legs or like the feeling of being trapped then they're no good.

Grin factor on B-roads..... HUGE !

Get a good one and you'll love it. Get a bad one and you'll still love it, just not as much.

My advise is to look for a basic 1.7 and uprate the springs and shocks. Ford offered uprated springs as a dealer fit accessory at the time and we did this to all our company demo Pumas.

Also, ditch the standard, albeit iconic, alloy gear knob. They burn the s**t out of your hand on a hot day and be freezing cold in winter.

[ST150HB]

Very nice, forgot all about these! Currently considering a joint venture on a weekend car, FRP could be a good contender.

[FWDRacer]

Having owned a standard 1.7 for 9 very enjoyable years, I'd sell a kidney for one of these. Rust? Pffffftttt. I'm also into Minis

There was group test at Pembrey back in the day when one of these pulled the pants down on a VTEC yo-mobile quite spectacularly.

A Fab Ford. Racing certainty as a investment. Geddit.

[nutey]

I bought one of these back in 2000 and had it for about 18 months. It was a great fun little car and probably the best handling car I've owned. The Sparco seats are still the most comfortable I've sat in and the gearchange was great.

Unfortunately, it cost an absolute fortune to keep going. So many FRP bespoke parts (Brakes in particualr) that cost the earth and even standard Ford parts kept dying - I can't remember how much I spent on it in that time but was probably north of £3k just on maintenance - mine was definitely a Friday Afternoon car.

Saying that I'd love another one if only I wasn't so scared of it bankrupting me!! Running a V8 Audi S4 for 2 years was cheaper...

[Froomee]

I love the look of these and if they wet circa 180-200bhp id definitely have one

[exgtt]

razzle99 said:

I had no idea these were such good value & they look like cracking little cars. The bit that stunned me though was that Mk5 Escort RS2000's are going for £7k !! I drove one of those when they were new & it was utterly rubbish back then...

What??? Really? I had a mk5 for about 2 months, was poo. Remember Revs magazine fitting launch control to one - Lol.

[johnnymiller]

I had number 58 back in the day. It was a great car in the end, but it required a fair bit of remediation to get there.

Things that went wrong with mine in the first year were

1) delaminating door cards
2) fuel filler flap paint peeling
3) rusty front grills
4) warped front disks (the brakes were superb though)
5) plastic seat trims falling off
6) Exhaust blowing, needed a new design O ring as far as I remember.

the first 4 items were warranty fixed, they were known issues as I remember.

it was a riot to drive though if a little underpowered. the steering, brakes and grip were all really quite phenomenal. I changed it for a series 1 elise in the end, but I always missed the character of the FRP, the crackle on the overrun and the playstation driving feel.

I'd like to try one again and see what it feels like after the myriad of cars I've had since then.

[iloveboost]

Skater12 said:

I used to work for Ford and had 3 Pumas as company cars.
All of them were the 1.7 VCT in different guises, including the "Black" edition.
I actually chose the Puma Black over an X-pack equipped V6 Cougar at the time purely or fun factor alone.

Boot space...rubbish.
Rear seats..... unless you're under 10 years old, have no legs or like the feeling of being trapped then they're no good.

Grin factor on B-roads..... HUGE !

Get a good one and you'll love it. Get a bad one and you'll still love it, just not as much.

My advise is to look for a basic 1.7 and uprate the springs and shocks. Ford offered uprated springs as a dealer fit accessory at the time and we did this to all our company demo Pumas.

Also, ditch the standard, albeit iconic, alloy gear knob. They burn the s**t out of your hand on a hot day and be freezing cold in winter.

Good advice but I'm not sure that anybody looking at a racing Puma would ever buy a standard Puma, even if there's only a small difference in reality. I think if you're looking at a 'racing' Puma you only care if you can afford it. You're only buying one for the depreciation 'free' factor, the looks and the rarity.
There are maybe better cars for the same price like the B18C based Honda Coupe that is probably depreciation free as well. I do think the Puma 'racing' looks a bit better though, especially in that colour.