Ford Puma ST Forgets It’s a FWD Crossover, Goes Sideways at the ’Ring During Hot Lap

Proof comes from L’argus, who put a skilled driver behind the wheel of the Ford Puma ST and set it loose at the Nurburgring, in the Nordschleife configuration. The camera placed inside reveals the entire hot lap, as the jacked up pocket rocket overtakes several cars, and even chases after a Porsche 911 GT3, which was probably doing a warm up lap.

With the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) turned off, the sporty subcompact crossover turned out to be a peach around corners, as despite being front-wheel drive, it is one tail-happy machine. Throughout the 9-minute long video, you can hear the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires making a lot of noise as the car struggles not to go sideways. But even when it does, the driver’s pants do not change color, as you’re about to see.

Besides that brilliant chassis setup, which helps it attack corners at high speeds, albeit at the expense of everyday comfort, the Puma ST rocks a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine. Shared with the latest Fiesta ST, the mill features turbocharging and churns out 197 horsepower (200 ps / 147 kW) and 236 pound-feet (320 Nm) of torque. It is mated to a six-speed manual transmission, rocketing it to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds, and up to a maximum speed of 137 mph (220 kph).

Unfortunately, Ford still has no plans to bring it to North America, so if you live in the New World, then the only way to experience it is by watching videos like this one. So, without further ado, this is the part where we invite you to scroll down and click the play button.