Ford has embraced electrification and it appears the company is working on a hybrid version of the Puma ST. Caught undergoing testing on the Nürburgring, the model doesn’t look terribly special at first glance as it appears identical to the standard crossover. However, keen-eyed observers will notice a yellow sticker on the rear window and this indicates the car is equipped with a hybrid powertrain.
While this seems unusual as the Puma ST is
barely a year old, it actually makes a lot of sense as the crossover will be
competing in the FIA World Rally Championship next year. Since the series is
going hybrid, Ford is apparently taking the road-going model along for the
journey. Little is known about the powertrain at this point, but Ford introduced
a Puma Rally1 prototype at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It featured a
plug-in hybrid powertrain that consisted of a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine, an
electric motor and a 3.9 kWh battery pack.
That being said, the road-going model will
likely adopt a mild-hybrid setup. While details are hazy, the current Puma ST
has a 1.5-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine that develops 197 hp and 320 Nm of torque. It’s connected to a six-speed manual
transmission, which enables the model to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 6.7 seconds and onto a top speed of 220 km/h.
While this particular model is believed to
be a mild-hybrid, a plug-in hybrid variant is possible in the future as Ford
has previously said “100% of its passenger vehicle range in Europe will be
zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid,” by mid-2026. That’s
still a ways off and it appears the Puma ST Hybrid will be a step in that
direction.
