Towards the end of the last decade, Ford took a moniker from its past and used it on a new compact crossover. Thus, the modern-day Puma was born, and rather strangely, the company decided to keep it away from the North American market.
Made in Craiova, Romania, the latest Ford Puma is the spiritual successor to the iconic Fiesta supermini, which was recently dropped for good. And since it is a very important product for the Blue Oval, it is in line for getting the electric recipe.
Prototypes of the zero-emission model have been spotted doing their thing recently, and the visual differences compared to the ICE-powered variants are instantly noticeable. For one, the EV gets a closed-off grille. It doesn't feature any tailpipes either, obviously, and it gets a charging port on the left rear fender. The bumpers and wheels carry over for now, but they should be exclusive to it.
Additional changes were likely performed to the interior, as the dashboard panel was under wraps. It is believed that the Ford Puma EV (name unconfirmed) might get the large dual displays from the E-Tourneo Custom, which shares the same underpinnings. The powertrain might also come from the E-Tourneo Custom, consisting of a single motor that makes 134 hp (136 ps/100 kW), a bit less than Peugeot's e-2008, which is one of its biggest rivals in the class.
Photo: Screenshot Youtube | TheAutoReport
As for the when it will premiere part of the story, our guess is in the first half of next year. After all, New Year's Eve is right around the corner, and we seriously doubt that the Dearborn automaker will uncover it in 2023. The model will come to life at the same factory that makes its fossil fuel-powered siblings, with the deliveries kicking off shortly after the grand unveiling, and just like the ICE models, it will remain a forbidden fruit in the United States.
But if Ford has yet to reveal this model, what is up with the pictured one? Well, it’s not pictured but rendered, as it calls Fantasy Land home. It came from TheAutoReport on YouTube, which took the time to rearrange the pixels heavily, turning it into a sleek crossover that looks ready for the future. Moreover, if you pay attention to the CGIs shared in the gallery above, then you will also see some tailpipes, as well as an opened grille, which tell us that it has pledged allegiance to gasoline.
Overall, these are some interesting CGIs of the next-gen Ford Puma that have nothing to do with the car manufacturer's plans for this model; we wouldn't complain if the model in question was real, especially if it made its way to the New World. Would you?
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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