The Ford Puma ST stopped being a secret in
February, when prototypes featuring very little camouflage were spotted at the
Nürburgring and in northern Sweden. Now, Ford Performance’s smallest SUV is
back on the Nordschleife for some last-minute testing before its official
reveal. Unsurprisingly, it’s devoid of any camouflage if you don’t count the
sticker applied to the front splitter.
We know the Puma ST will debut later this
year with the same 1.5-liter EcoBoost powertrain from the Fiesta ST. The
turbocharged three-cylinder petrol is expected to deliver 200 PS and
290 Nm of torque to the front wheels via a six-speed manual
transmission.
In the Fiesta ST, that’s enough for a
0-100 km/h sprint of 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 232 km/h. The Puma ST should not be too far off the pace; expect a time of just
under 7 seconds and a tad lower maximum speed for the slightly larger and
heavier crossover. Handling should be significantly improved compared to the
regular Puma courtesy of a lower sports suspension and uprated braking system.
In the looks department, the Ford Puma ST
resembles the Puma ST-Line a lot except for the deeper front bumper with a
black lip, slightly bigger roof spoiler, twin exhaust pipes, and exclusive
alloys. Inside, the hot crossover will come equipped with Recaro sports seats,
sports steering wheel and carbon fiber-like trim on the center console. Ford
will build the Puma ST alongside the regular Puma at its plant in Craiova,
Romania.
