{"id":2064897,"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2064897"},"modified":"2026-07-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:00:00","slug":"modest-power-exhilarating-effect-why-the-ford-racing-puma-is-a-proper-hero-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2064897","title":{"rendered":"“Modest power, exhilarating effect”: why the Ford Racing Puma is a proper hero car"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Time can treat heroes unkindly. The great grow old, the powerful fade, the mighty fall. Then there\u2019s the Ford Racing Puma. It was a hero to me 25 years ago, and driving it again… well, this is the zingiest thing I\u2019ve driven in years.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the word that defines the FRP. It\u2019s a hard-top, high-rise Caterham. It drives like Mentos in Coke, so full of fizz it can\u2019t contain itself. If it was a dog it would be a Jack Russell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So of course, it was a borderline failure. The regular Puma (basically a Fiesta coupe with a 1.7-litre engine), on sale since 1997, had been a rip-roaring success. So when Ford showed a Puma ST160 concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 1999, great things were expected. Within a few months it appeared things had been watered down \u2013 the Racing Puma that went into production didn\u2019t even have the promised 160bhp of the concept.<\/p>\n

Its 153bhp was only 30bhp more than the regular Puma, yet instead of \u00a313,000, this was now a \u00a323,000 car. You could see why, though. So it didn\u2019t trigger homologation rules, it was sold as an aftermarket kit: a regular Puma was built, and then shipped to Tickford in Daventry to have all the mods made. And yes, while the extra 30bhp wasn\u2019t enough when any hot hatch worth its name had 200bhp, the high-lift cams, airbox and exhaust work did fundamentally alter the 1.7\u2019s character.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But that wasn\u2019t the half of it. Seemingly inspired by Ford\u2019s Puma F2 rally car, track widths were up 80mm, with new blistered body panels necessitated. This obviously meant new wishbones, longer and beefier driveshafts, but the rally inspiration went further: stiffer Eibach springs and dampers, shot-peened lower gears, 295mm Alcon four-piston brakes, Sparco seats, Alcantara trim and options that included a limited slip diff.<\/p>\n

The plan had been for 1,000 to be built, for sale across the UK and Germany. In fact Germany never got any and by the time production was wound up, UK buyers had purchased less than 490. And this despite really positive media coverage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some of which I was responsible for. I didn\u2019t go on the original launch in San Francisco, but once back in the UK I found any excuse to drive one, because it was so exciting. The FRP thought it had 500bhp, the way it went about its business. And that hasn\u2019t changed at all over the years. Throttle response is absolutely electric, you brush the pedal and it\u2019s off, surging, it just wants to go. You let it go and it\u2019s all fizz and eagerness, everything\u2019s at the top end between 5,000 and 7,000rpm, gearshifts zip through. There\u2019s no muscle here, it\u2019s all nerve.<\/p>\n

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I found any excuse to drive one, because it was so exciting<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And in the chassis they\u2019re drawn tighter than a bowstring. And this isn\u2019t even as stiff as the main man behind the project, Ford legend Richard Parry-Jones, wanted to make it. On the options list was a set of RPJ dampers. Apparently only 15 or 20 cars had them fitted, while around 80 had the diff. This one \u2013 car 1\/500 no less \u2013 has neither. It bobbles around Dunsfold, stilted and eager, just desperately wanting to be pointed at a corner.<\/p>\n

The steering brims with information, and I can\u2019t ever remember driving a car with more throttle adjustment than this. People go on about original Peugeot 205 GTi\u2019s having lift-off oversteer, but this is in a different league. You tip it in, take up an angle with the steering and then do everything else on the throttle. Roundabouts must be mesmeric in this. Back off the throttle too much and the rear axle goes \u2018wahey! Let\u2019s have some fun!\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And you really do. I find two things amazing here. That in recent years Ford has appeared willing to surrender it\u2019s reputation for ride and handling. And that older fast Fords have gone to the moon in value, yet a tidy FRP is still city car money. Values deserve to skyrocket. Because I can\u2019t think of a car that uses modest power to more exhilarating effect.<\/p>\n

Photography: Jonny Fleetwood<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time can treat heroes unkindly. The great grow old, the powerful fade, the mighty fall. Then there\u2019s the Ford Racing Puma. It was a hero to me 25 years ago, and driving it again… well, this is the zingiest thing I\u2019ve driven in years. That\u2019s the word that defines the FRP. It\u2019s a hard-top, high-rise […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2064897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2064897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064897\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2064897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2064897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2064897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}