Through September of last year, Ford’s best-selling model in Europe wasn’t the Fiesta nor the Kuga, not even the Focus or the Transit Custom, believe it or not. The Blue Oval’s main heavyweight in terms of sales was none other than the Puma, a cute and sporty-looking crossover, built on the same platform as the Fiesta.
There you have it. If there were any lingering doubts regarding crossovers being more popular than any other body style, I think we can safely lay them to rest. Edging out the Fiesta in markets where the tiny hatchback has proven to be so dominant for decades, is nothing short of amazing.
Of course, the Puma wasn’t always a crossover. In fact, the moniker was first used by Ford between 1997 and 2001 on a compact two-door coupe model, which was also only sold in Europe. You might even call it the spiritual successor to the Ford Capri.
Between 2002 and 2019, the Puma name laid dormant before the carmaker decided to dust it off and staple it on the back of a small yet surprisingly good-looking crossover, which found 116,245 new owners from January until September of last year.
Now, thanks to Berhard Reichel, we can play a fun little hypothetical game with the Puma, by picturing it yet again as a budget-friendly two-door coupe. The illustration only shows us this rear ¾ angle, but if you look closely, you can see that it still features the same front fender design as the crossover, and probably the same headlights two.
Personally, I like how it looks. It has an aggressive stance thanks to those muscular haunches. The rear end is interesting too, with a full-width taillight design interrupted only by the company’s badge.
Of course, if this car could somehow manifest itself into existence tomorrow, it wouldn’t be fully electric, for obvious reasons. It would instead share its powertrains with the latest Fiesta, which also means using the latter’s three-cylinder 1.5-liter Ecoboost unit, which is good for 197 hp (200 ps) and 214 lb-ft (290 Nm) of torque in ST spec. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Of course, the Puma wasn’t always a crossover. In fact, the moniker was first used by Ford between 1997 and 2001 on a compact two-door coupe model, which was also only sold in Europe. You might even call it the spiritual successor to the Ford Capri.
Between 2002 and 2019, the Puma name laid dormant before the carmaker decided to dust it off and staple it on the back of a small yet surprisingly good-looking crossover, which found 116,245 new owners from January until September of last year.
Now, thanks to Berhard Reichel, we can play a fun little hypothetical game with the Puma, by picturing it yet again as a budget-friendly two-door coupe. The illustration only shows us this rear ¾ angle, but if you look closely, you can see that it still features the same front fender design as the crossover, and probably the same headlights two.
Personally, I like how it looks. It has an aggressive stance thanks to those muscular haunches. The rear end is interesting too, with a full-width taillight design interrupted only by the company’s badge.
Of course, if this car could somehow manifest itself into existence tomorrow, it wouldn’t be fully electric, for obvious reasons. It would instead share its powertrains with the latest Fiesta, which also means using the latter’s three-cylinder 1.5-liter Ecoboost unit, which is good for 197 hp (200 ps) and 214 lb-ft (290 Nm) of torque in ST spec. Wouldn’t that be fun?