New hybrid M-Sport Ford Puma rally car revealed in full

Ford has unveiled its new hybrid M-Sport Puma rally car ahead of its debut at the Monte Carlo Rally next weekend. 

The livery of the new hybrid rally car has now been shown for the first time by the brand’s M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, revealing the cool blue-purple colour scheme and lightning strikes, which help to symbolise the electrified element to its powertrain.

Just like Ford’s road-going Puma crossover is predominantly offered as a hybrid, so too is the rally car, with the brand saying it is ‘powered using similar principes’. Its clever powertrain is able to capture energy during braking and coasting, before storing it in a 3.9kWh battery.

It can then be used to help boost the 1.6-litre engine’s performance for ‘repeated bursts of up to three seconds’. Full performance figures aren’t detailed, but Ford says it should produce more than 500bhp and 500Nm of torque, with a five-speed sequential manual gearbox being used. This is said to allow for a 0-60mph time of around three seconds on both tarmac and gravel. 

When not competing, the rally car can also run on electricity around town, cities and service parks between stages, with its battery taking around 25 minutes to charge. All cars competing in the WRC will also use fossil fuel-free petrol, helping to bring down the sport’s carbon footprint. 

Ford will be competing with three cars during the World Rally Championship (WRC), and has now named its drivers as Craig Breen, Adrien Formaux and Gus Greensmith. Rally legend Sebastien Loeb will also be joining the team at this weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally opener. 

The 2022 WRC season marks 25 years of partnership between Ford and M-Sport, which has resulted in 1,500 stage wins in that time. Previously Ford has competed with rally-tuned Fiesta and Focus models, but this is the first outing for the Puma. 

Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance, said: “One of the most captivating aspects of WRC down the years has been the clear link between the ultra-high performance rally cars and their road-going equivalents.

“That’s why it’s so important that this new era of WRC reflects our industry’s shift to electrification. At Ford, we’re fully committed to an electrified future, and campaigning the M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 car in the toughest conditions is going to help us develop even more exciting electrified powertrains for our customers.”