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The M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 recently turned Ford’s Craiova plant into a rally stage and powered into view for the first time in an electrifying new Ford video. Shot entirely on location at Ford’s Craiova assembly facility, Romania – which celebrated its 1 millionth vehicle rolling off the production line – the exhilarating new film also features cameos from M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (WRT) driver Adrien Fourmaux and Ford Craiova colleagues responsible for producing road-going, EcoBoost Hybrid-powered Ford Puma SUVs.
Previously seen only in prototype form at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 marked Ford’s first foray into electrified motorsport globally with its competitive debut at the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season-opening Monte Carlo Rally last weekend, successfully taking the win on the first round and heading to Sweden in February for the second round.
The action‑packed new film called “Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 Gatecrashes the Party” sees the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car brought to life in an electrifying lightning storm before delivering an exciting exhibition of precision driving around the Craiova assembly facility.
The car was driven and stunts performed by M-Sport Ford WRT driver Adrien Fourmaux using ramps and rigs developed by Ford engineers based at the facility. Ford colleagues also used their expertise to bring assembly robots to life for the film and every actor featured is a Ford employee from the plant.
The new M‑Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car follows in the footsteps of the Ford Fiesta WRC car, which secured three WRC titles following its introduction in 2017.
Ford's first electrified competition car introduces a next-generation hybrid powertrain that captures energy during braking and coasting and stores it in a 3.9kWh battery, before using it to supplement the championship-winning performance of the turbocharged 1.6-litre EcoBoost petrol engine with repeated boosts of up to three seconds from a 100kW electric motor.
The M‑Sport Ford Puma Rally1 can also use its electrified powertrain to travel through towns, cities, service parks and chosen sections between stages using pure-electric power. The battery pack can be recharged using an external power source at the dedicated service points between stages, with a recharge taking approximately 25 minutes. Weighing 95kg, the hybrid system is liquid- and air‑cooled and housed in a ballistic-strength casing to resist the impact of debris and g-forces in the event of an accident.
The road-going Ford Puma uses a 1.0-litre EcoBoost Hybrid powertrain 2 with 48-volt mild hybrid technology to boost fuel efficiency and driving fun. A belt-driven integrated starter/generator recovers energy to charge a 48‑volt lithium-ion battery pack, and also acts as a motor, integrating with the engine to provide torque assistance that can help save fuel or enhance performance, depending on the driving scenario.
Ford is going all-in on electrification, and earlier this year announced that 100 percent of its passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid by mid-2026; moving to all-electric by 2030.
In addition to unveiling the competition Puma Rally1 car, Ford also revealed that the 1 millionth vehicle manufactured at its Craiova assembly facility is a Puma ST-Line in Desert Island Blue, powered by a 155PS EcoBoost Hybrid engine.
