VW Puma GT

The Puma GT, originally called the Malzoni GT after its company founder, Genaro Malzoni, was designed as a race car to compete in the highly competitive Brazilian GT racing series. Lightweight and aerodynamically designed, the car exhibited spirited performance and, in 1965, won five impressive victories.

A year later, the car celebrated second- and third-place finishes in the Brazilian 1000-mile race, further establishing credibility as a viable force within the auto racing community and throughout South America. This was a time when the Puma, the first plant-production, all-Brazilian sports car was producing only 35 cars annually. Yes, in addition to kit form, the Puma was in fact, manufactured in whole at its assembly plant.

As its popularity grew, so did production, manufacturing thousands of units throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s. During this production period, the car changed in various ways, including its body styling, chassis and engine configuration. These various changes also spawned a number of different models, including cabrios. Although production was eventually stopped in the ‘70s, as the company was bought and sold, Puma Marketing Company began producing replacement parts, as well as a short production run of completed models based on the ‘73 GTE coupe between 1989-‘91. Even C.B. Performance had a tie to the venerable vehicle as a one-time U.S. distributor.

The Puma GT, GTE and GTS (convertible) proved the most popular versions, each produced using a Brazilian Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (and later Brasilia) floorpan as well as a VW 1500 (1600cc GTE) engine and drivetrain. While completed versions of the fiberglass car were built for its native country, exported units were shipped partially unassembled.

54 Bhp
11 sec. from 0 - 100 km/h
topspeed 160 km/h