A rare Puma sports car from Brazil was valued at only 6.2 thousand dollars (33 photos)

These cars were assembled in the first half of the 1980s and only about 600 cars were assembled. One of the surviving cars was recently sold at auction in Canada. This Puma is not related to either the sportswear manufacturer or the Ford crossover - this is a Brazilian company founded back in 1966. The owner of the car agreed to sell a well-preserved coupe with a spectacular design for only 6.2 thousand dollars.





Puma Automóveis Ltda was founded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by Italian Genaro Malzoni, who emigrated there in the early 1960s. In the 70s and 80s, his cars were very popular in Brazil amid protectionist measures by local authorities: Brazil seriously limited the import of cars from abroad in an attempt to develop the local auto industry.

The Puma GTI and GTC (open-top version) models were based on Volkswagen components, which it purchased locally, and were equipped with fiberglass body panels designed by Malzoni himself. In fact, the Puma GTI is a close relative of the Volkswagen Beetle. The coupe was equipped with a 1.6-liter boxer engine producing 54 hp. With. and 78 Nm in combination with a 4-speed manual. Despite the weak engine, the Puma GTI was quite a dynamic car thanks to its weight of less than 900 kilograms.

The engine performance of this particular example is most likely higher: one of the coupe owners equipped it with alternative Solex carburetors and a custom exhaust. The car has traveled about 81 thousand kilometers and is in good condition. Perhaps the purchase will become a kind of investment, as interest in rare local models in the global classic car market is gradually growing.