The Puma follows common design cues with other Ford cars at the time, and is in the New Edge family of vehicles.

The car was based on the Mark 4 Ford Fiesta,[9] with new engines (codeveloped with Yamaha), a new body, stiffer suspension, wider track and close-ratio gearbox, among other changes.

Additionally, the 1.7-litre engines used Nikasil cylinder plating, which required a specific grade of oil (5W30 semisynthetic) to minimise mechanical wear.

Rough machined cylinder blocks were shipped from Ford's Valencia plant in Spain to Yamaha in Japan for Nikasil coating and completion.

The Ford Ka and Focus also received the same award, and were also produced in the same quantity and paintwork, but with black leather interiors.

Less than half of the 500 cars were actually sold directly to customers, with the vehicle's high price (£23,000 when new) often cited as a reason, as rival performance cars such as the Subaru Impreza (with an additional 50+ BHP/Turbo, four-wheel-drive and rallying pedigree) were being offered for a maximum of £21,000 with the optional Pro Drive pack.

The lower than anticipated demand had Ford offering Racing Pumas to senior managers through their MRC scheme, which enabled cars to continue being registered and converted.

Stig Blomqvist spent months fine-tuning the car's handling to ensure its chassis dynamics were perfected.

Sparco were commissioned to provide high-grip bucket seats for improved driver control in cornering situations.

The blue Alcantara trim used on the seats and steering wheel provided improved grip over other material types.

Only the camshafts, air intake (with the unique edition number engraved on it), a specially tuned complete exhaust system by Janspeed, and a revised engine management software helped to increase power by 30 hp, reducing the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time to 7.8 seconds, achieving a 126 mph (203 km/h) top speed.

The Puma's technical details included a Zetec SE all-alloy engine with four cylinders and 16 valves at 1596 cm3, power over 200 bhp (150 kW) at 9000 rpm, front wheel drive via a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox, limited slip differential, dynamic front suspension using MacPherson struts with adjustable spring platforms, Ford Racing rear trailing arm beam with adjustable dynamic suspension, Alcon front brakes with 355 mm (14.0 in) diameter ventilated discs using four-piston calipers, Alcon 260 mm (10 in) diameter solid disc rear brakes with two piston calipers, a welded steel safety roll cage, and front and rear wheel arches and bumpers in composite.

[24] While not as controversial as the Ka when it first appeared, the Puma did achieve critical acclaim for its well-proportioned and cat-like design cues.

[25] The original United Kingdom television advertisement used clips from the movie Bullitt and cut McQueen into the modern setting of a Puma in San Francisco.

Both commercials were directed by British director Paul Street, and won many advertising industry awards, featuring in all-time top 10 ad charts.

There are 7,493 Ford Pumas (including cars declared as SORN) that remain registered with the DVLA in the UK as of Q3 2023.