History Car 2000s

Ford Puma S1600

Overview Specs Highlights Characteristics

Overview

The Ford Puma Super 1600, internally described as VK16 in some Ford Racing technical histories, was a lightweight, naturally aspirated front-wheel-drive rally coupé developed by Ford Rallye Sport's Boreham operation. It must not be confused with the wider Focus World Rally Car, the road-going Tickford-associated Racing Puma or Ford's separate Puma Super 1400 (VK14).

Ford ran substantial customer-team support for the FIA junior formula, especially at the 2002 inaugural Junior World Rally Championship. Ford Rallye Sport built the competing cars, but FIA rules required independent entrants to operate them on-event. Contemporary team listings identify Chris Birkbeck Rallysport, Astra Racing and MLP; describing the Puma as an M-Sport-run four-wheel-drive factory WRC car would be incorrect.

Importantly, the Puma did win at junior event level. François Duval and Jean-Marc Fortin topped the 2002 Monte Carlo Junior WRC classification and finished 17th outright. That stage-event success was not a Junior WRC championship title. The Ford Fiesta Super 1600 began superseding the Puma in the junior series in 2004.

Technical Specs & Innovations

  • Regulation: FIA Super 1600 (S1600), normally Group A6; not FIA World Rally Car, not Super 2000
  • Manufacturer builder: Ford Rallye Sport, Boreham, Essex; cars entered and serviced on international events by independent squads
  • Competition use: Puma competition versions began around 2001; seven Pumas listed for the opening 2002 Junior WRC championship
  • Model distinction: VK16 1.6-litre S1600, separately developed from VK14 1.4-litre Puma S1400
  • Engine ancestor: Ford 1.7-litre Zetec-SE Puma engine architecture reduced to suit the 1.6-litre competition limit
  • Works-era displacement: 1,596 cc naturally aspirated DOHC inline-four reported in documented Boreham-built works-car provenance
  • Induction: Naturally aspirated, high-revving petrol engine; no turbocharger or rally anti-lag system
  • Published engine output: Around 200 bhp for a representative early works specification; rebuilt surviving cars may run higher and should not be treated as period stock
  • 2002 engine regulation: Single throttle body with a maximum 9,000 rpm rev-limiter was required for 2002 junior Super 1600, differing from permitted 2001 induction configurations
  • Transmission: Hewland six-speed sequential manual competition gearbox in period Puma S1600 car documentation
  • Clutch and drive: Front-wheel drive with limited-slip differential; no centre or rear driving differential
  • Front suspension: Independent MacPherson struts with adjustable competition dampers and geometry
  • Rear suspension: Ford Racing modified trailing-arm/torsion-beam rear arrangement; not driven rear wheels
  • Competition chassis: Reinforced Puma coupé shell with cage, enhanced radiator clearance and front anti-roll mounting
  • Track and wheel arches: S1600 widened track relative to the Super 1400 kit car with flared wheel-arch bodywork
  • Brake manufacturer: Alcon period competition discs and calipers as documented on a surviving works Puma
  • Front braking: Ventilated discs with four-piston calipers in a representative Boreham works-car description
  • Rear braking: Solid discs with two-piston calipers in the same reference specification
  • Fuel storage: 55-litre FIA-approved fuel cell beneath the rear floor on documented works build
  • Period mass reference: Approximately 880 kg in an auction provenance listing; verify the individual chassis's homologated and weighed condition
  • Tyres and setup: Tarmac/gravel/snow tyre choices, spring rates, damping and gear final drive selected for course surface
  • Homologation source: Boreham preparation and setup documents are preserved by Chris Birkbeck Rally Sport; original prototype manual is explicitly not a complete description of every works update
  • Support structure: Different customer/team entries maintained their own cars, so a 2002 entrant's gearbox and damper records should not be inferred from a 2020s restored specimen
  • Regulatory caution: Class victories refer to junior/S1600 classification, not overall WRC round wins over turbocharged 4WD World Rally Cars

🏆 Competitive Highlights

  • 2001 initial Junior WRC year: The Ford Puma S1600 competed in the inaugural junior-era series; Martin Stenshorne was the highest-placed Ford driver, sixth in the 2001 S1600 points according to period Ford reporting.
  • 2001 national success: Ford Racing Puma entries and Ford Rallye Sport competitors had national/one-make Formula Rally results; championship categories must be named rather than called a World title.
  • 2002 Monte Carlo Rally: François Duval and Jean-Marc Fortin won the Junior WRC / Super 1600 event classification in a Ford Puma, finishing 17th overall in the full rally.
  • 2002 Monte Carlo depth: Roger Feghali and Nicola Arena finished third in junior class, with Daniel Carlsson and Per Karlsson fourth, also in Pumas.
  • 2002 seven-car launch: Ford announced seven Pumas for the opening six-round Junior WRC championship across Birkbeck, Astra and MLP-run operations.
  • 2002 France: Ford France also fielded Pumas in its domestic rally championship for Patrick Magaud and Nicolas Bernardi.
  • 2002 British Rally Championship: Kris Meeke and Guy Wilks drove Puma S1600 machinery in their early full-season national championship careers.
  • 2004 successor: Ford prepared the Fiesta S1600 to replace Puma in junior competition; the Puma remained in private use afterwards.
  • Title caveat: A category event win and multiple development-driver programmes did not amount to a Junior WRC season championship for the Puma.

Driving Characteristics

Front-wheel drive, modest rally mass and a naturally aspirated 1,596 cc engine made momentum conservation more important than the low-rpm torque available from 2.0-litre turbo 4WD machinery. Keeping revs up and preventing excessive front-wheel slip were fundamental constraints in tight gravel corners.

Unlike a four-wheel-drive World Rally Car, the Puma could not use driven rear wheels to pull itself out of understeer. Brake and throttle technique, limited-slip differential preload and appropriate rear-beam/stiffness settings shaped rotation and traction; any handling claim should be anchored to surface and setup.

The FIA's 2002 single-throttle and 9,000 rpm change is a useful reminder that cars built in 2001 were updated. Ford specifically planned a full 2002 specification from Catalunya onwards while starting Monte Carlo on the previous year's development baseline.

Development & legacy

The Puma S1600's historical role is in affordable junior-class competition and the early careers of drivers who later competed at much higher levels. Its genuine 2002 Monte Carlo junior win should be preserved without inventing a full championship or conflating the 2000s Super 1600 coupé with the much later hybrid Ford Puma Rally1.

Research sources & verification

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