RE: Ford Puma 1.7 | Spotted

[WPA]

maxwellwd said:

Also, on this subject, when did you last see a Cougar on the road, it's bigger brother?

I have owned 3 all V6 X packs, not the quickest thing to drive but lovely engine note and fun car to drive

[ruggedscotty]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406050...

this was sublime. had a few shots in a racing.... one of the highpoints in my car history, never owned one but wouldnt say no....

[cerb4.5lee]

ruggedscotty said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406050...

this was sublime. had a few shots in a racing.... one of the highpoints in my car history, never owned one but wouldnt say no....

I always remember moaning about the performance of those, because at the time you could buy an Impreza Turbo for similar money. The Imprezas performance per £ was off the scale in comparison for me.

The Racing Puma was a lovely colour though, and it looked good too I thought.

[ruggedscotty]

cerb4.5lee said:

ruggedscotty said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406050...

this was sublime. had a few shots in a racing.... one of the highpoints in my car history, never owned one but wouldnt say no....

I always remember moaning about the performance of those, because at the time you could buy an Impreza Turbo for similar money. The Imprezas performance per £ was off the scale in comparison for me.

The Racing Puma was a lovely colour though, and it looked good too I thought.

The original design remit was to achieve 180 bhp using a 1.7-litre Zetec SE equipped with a turbocharger. However, due to spiralling project costs, this was not achieved and eventually the Racing Puma engineers were forced to keep their changes within a naturally aspirated engine. The majority of the engine remained unchanged from the 1.7 Zetec SE used in the standard Puma. Only the camshafts, air intake (with the unique edition number engraved on it), a specially tuned complete exhaust system by Janspeed, and a revised engine management software helped to increase power by 30 hp, reducing the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time to 7.8 seconds, achieving a 126 mph (203 km/h) top speed.

[martin12345]

ruggedscotty said:

cerb4.5lee said:

ruggedscotty said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406050...

this was sublime. had a few shots in a racing.... one of the highpoints in my car history, never owned one but wouldnt say no....

I always remember moaning about the performance of those, because at the time you could buy an Impreza Turbo for similar money. The Imprezas performance per £ was off the scale in comparison for me.

The Racing Puma was a lovely colour though, and it looked good too I thought.

The original design remit was to achieve 180 bhp using a 1.7-litre Zetec SE equipped with a turbocharger. However, due to spiralling project costs, this was not achieved and eventually the Racing Puma engineers were forced to keep their changes within a naturally aspirated engine. The majority of the engine remained unchanged from the 1.7 Zetec SE used in the standard Puma. Only the camshafts, air intake (with the unique edition number engraved on it), a specially tuned complete exhaust system by Janspeed, and a revised engine management software helped to increase power by 30 hp, reducing the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time to 7.8 seconds, achieving a 126 mph (203 km/h) top speed.

Except most Racing Puma engines struggled to make over 145BHP in reality and the stock ones were up to 130 BHP in some cases. As a result the power uplift in reality was only 15 to 20 BHP. But................ that exhaust did sound great !! In reality the car was all about looks and the chassis - the engine mods were almost incidental. I had one as a Ford managment company car for 4 or 5 months and had a lot of fun in it

[paulyv]

Turbobanana said:

Did they ever have 4 spoke wheels? They certainly had 5:

Once helped organise an event for Ford with this very image up on the giant screen. The sills on the image were clearly rusty and I had to touch the image up before displaying it. Such is Puma life.

That said I am a huge fan. I have owned two, have taken them on Brands Hatch, Silverstone, and was overtaken all day long but seemed to be having the most fun out there. What a joy these are to drive and I would love another. I saw one in the wild this weekend and despite seeing one of those Lotus SUV's and a Prodrive P25 on the roads the very same day, this was the highlight for me.

[paulyv]

Turbobanana said:

I have a 16 year old who turns 17 in September. He's keen to learn to drive a "proper" car (read: manual) before everything goes all EV and self-drive. He probably won't undertake too many long journeys while at sixth form. This car is 25 miles from me. It's probably as safe, in the real world, as a more modern hatchback. It's easily fixed, has enough driver aids to feel modern(ish) and is stylish. Running costs will be sensible.

I wonder...

Any Puma is the perfect car for this use but hunt one out with TWO airbags. The passenger one had to be specced and is rather rare.

Edited by paulyv on Wednesday 26th June 17:50

[Bycroft75]

Owned two 1.7 in the past, also owned numerous much faster, much heavier hot hatches since then, but the Puma's engine/gearbox/chassis combination still stands out.... now own a Cayman R and wouldn't own anything new as they're just not the same.

[Mr Tidy]

cerb4.5lee said:

maxwellwd said:

I agree, the same with the v6 406 coupe. Very nice car, but I think they have risen in value already..?

Talking about Ford coupe's, I remember when the probe came out and I thought they looked amazing. I saw one recently up here in Scotland, not seen one for over ten years! They must be an appreciating Ford in v6 guise no?

I've always felt a bit sad that the Probe never took off to be honest, and I always thought it was a good looking car.

I remember when the Probe was launched I had my 2nd Capri 2.8 Injection and the Probe didn't interest me at all - it was FWD!

I never tried a Puma but they did get good reviews. Mrs Tidy was thinking about one after a test drive in R50 Mini she got one of those instead.

[cerb4.5lee]

Mr Tidy said:

cerb4.5lee said:

maxwellwd said:

I agree, the same with the v6 406 coupe. Very nice car, but I think they have risen in value already..?

Talking about Ford coupe's, I remember when the probe came out and I thought they looked amazing. I saw one recently up here in Scotland, not seen one for over ten years! They must be an appreciating Ford in v6 guise no?

I've always felt a bit sad that the Probe never took off to be honest, and I always thought it was a good looking car.

I remember when the Probe was launched I had my 2nd Capri 2.8 Injection and the Probe didn't interest me at all - it was FWD!

I never tried a Puma but they did get good reviews. Mrs Tidy was thinking about one after a test drive in R50 Mini she got one of those instead.

Agree, and I think that the FWD aspect played a really big part at the time as you say.

Obviously there was a generation of folk who loved RWD with the Capris/Escorts/Cortinas etc. So the move to FWD was a massive let down for them I think.

Although personally at the time I just wanted the Capri to live on in one way or another really though.

[bangerhoarder]

They’re quite a decent daily, though mine is only ever put on the road through summer (it lived by the sea in its early life - they really dislike salt!)

Even the rear seat is perfectly useable, big boot, economy is okay on a run and it’s fine for town driving as it heats up quickly (but thirsty on short trips).

It’s my absolute pick if I have a B road journey to make - so much fun, so engaging, and with Millennium Recaro seats so I don’t slide off the bolsters, a great way to have fun at legal speeds.

[otolith]

I always thought the Probe’s Mazda sister was the better looking car (and the name didn’t have the unfortunate “Cerb4.5Lee really wants a probe” alien abduction overtones)

[cerb4.5lee]

bangerhoarder said:

They’re quite a decent daily, though mine is only ever put on the road through summer (it lived by the sea in its early life - they really dislike salt!)

Even the rear seat is perfectly useable, big boot, economy is okay on a run and it’s fine for town driving as it heats up quickly (but thirsty on short trips).

It’s my absolute pick if I have a B road journey to make - so much fun, so engaging, and with Millennium Recaro seats so I don’t slide off the bolsters, a great way to have fun at legal speeds.

It is funny that you mention the Millennium Recaros, and I absolutely loved that version too.

I've always liked leather seats generally, and when the Millennium had the Recaros...I was totally smitten for sure.

[cerb4.5lee]

otolith said:

I always thought the Probe’s Mazda sister was the better looking car (and the name didn’t have the unfortunate “Cerb4.5Lee really wants a probe” alien abduction overtones)

The name of it definitely didn't go down very well as you say!

[Mr Tidy]

cerb4.5lee said:

otolith said:

I always thought the Probe’s Mazda sister was the better looking car (and the name didn’t have the unfortunate “Cerb4.5Lee really wants a probe” alien abduction overtones)

The name of it definitely didn't go down very well as you say!

I had a liaison with a lady many years ago who was proud of her Purple Probe.

[Limpet]

Brilliant cars. I put a semi drunken £200 max bid on one on eBay one evening back in around 2015 and went to bed. Woke up to notification that I’d won it for £174!
Had a couple of weeks of MOT left on it and a clutch that was so shagged I couldn’t reverse it up the dropped kerb onto the drive. Usual rusty sills and rear arches, but complete, running and very sweet with it.
A mate and I put a clutch in it on the drive at the weekend, changed the noisy droplinks and ARB bushes, and I patched the rusty sills with the welder and we got it through an MOT. Had a year of cheap fun out of it, including taking it on track.
Properly set up on a Hunter machine, they handle absolutely brilliantly. Incredible front end bite and a lovely, mobile tail. Steering is lovely, the gearbox short and slick, the engine so sweet and willing, and I generally think they are one of the best affordable drivers cars ever made.
My daughter loved it as well, and she wants one, but they are effectively uninsurable at 17. Cheapest quote we got on a 1.4 (and that’s without actually finding a car) was over £4K.
Lovely things though.

[TheMilkyBarKid]

There’s a lot of fun there for £3K, and it looks like the rust that showed up on the MOT history a few years back for this one has been dealt with. It’s hardly done any miles in the last 5 years so probably needs going through to refresh fluids, electrics and check hoses and whatnot, but if that works out okay and the rust can be kept at bay underneath I’d have a punt on that.

As the tin worm thins out all but the best of them they surely won’t stay this cheap for much longer?

[jenkosrugby]

Fantastic car.....I dismantled one and built a kit car using the engine / gearbox and some other parts. Engine was so sweet. I put throttle bodies on it and used the VVT system more like the Vtec...Worked really well.

[Deep Thought]

Charlie Croker mk2 said:

There is a rare one owner 1.4 on eBay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126543712704

I think the point of the article was, you dont have to spend a fortune to buy a road ready Puma with the much preferred 1.7 litre Yamaha engine and in the iconic silver.

I would absolutely guarantee if you bought that non runner 1.4 on ebay, the end car would end up costing way more than the £2995 asking price of this one AND it would be the relatively unloved 1.4 variant in red.

[Deep Thought]

66HFM said:

My ideal choice, Racing excepted, would be a 1.7 with the original 4 spoke alloys

The wheels on this one are the correct wheels for when it was made, but it wouldnt be hard to pick up a set of the original (5 spoke) alloys to put on to this one.