Ford: The Puma Rally 1 in action 🎥
FOLLOWER The one millionth vehicle has rolled off the production line at Ford's assembly plant in Craiova, Romania. It is a special Puma ST-Line in Desert Island Blue with a 155 hp hybrid engine.
The M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1 will replace the successful Fiesta next year.
The company also used the event to unveil the future World Rally Car: the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1. For this purpose, a rally track with chicanes was set up at the plant for motorsport driver Adrien Formaux.
Thrust from a 100 kW electric motor
The M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1 will replace the successful Fiesta next year. As the brand's first electrified competition car, it features a next-generation hybrid powertrain that recovers braking energy and stores it in a 3.9-kWh battery to supplement the power of the turbocharged 1.6-liter Ecoboost gasoline engine with additional boosts from a 100-kW electric motor (136 hp).
Alongside Adrien Fourmaux, record world champion Sébastien Loeb will be one of the Ford drivers at the debut of the Puma Rally 1 on the occasion of the Rally Monte Carlo in January 2022.
Investment of over $300 million
The plant in Romania was opened twelve years ago and employs around 6000 people. The Transit Connect was initially produced at the site. This was followed by the B-Max and Ecosport before Puma production started in 2019.
Ford has announced that it will invest more than $300 million in the plant to build a new light commercial vehicle in Craiova in 2023, including a fully electric version to be launched in 2024.
