Collaboration and co-operation. They’re the linchpins here, the essential ingredients in this recipe for success, and they’ve been coursing through the very bedrock of the Puma from the start. You may recall that when this perky little Fiesta-based coupe launched back in 1997 it was available with a variety of engines, and the one everyone really wanted was the 1.7. Why? Because that particular variant of the Zetec SE was a little bit special. Unlike the 1.4 and 1.6 in the range, the 1.7 started life as a rough-machined bare block in Ford’s Valencia plant before being shipped over to Yamaha’s HQ in Iwata where it was kitted out with Nikasil liners and a sprinkling of Japanese tuning magic, then returning to Europe — this time ending up in Cologne for final assembly. There’s a reason why every Mk4 and Mk5 Fiesta owner through thethese engines found themselves pillaged and rehomed. Some of them stayed just where the good Ford intended, between the inner wings of slinky and sylph-like Pumas. Tuning options abounded, not least in-house (and with the help of Tickford) for the brutal wide-bodied Racing Puma model. And speaking of racing… well, the evidence is before you right here that a narrow-body 1.7 Puma can be turned into a formidable and nigh-on unbeatable race car, even after all these years have passed.
