Pumas to senior managers through their MRC scheme, which enabled cars to continue being registered and converted. The lack of demand when brand new has allowed it to maintain an increased value over the standard Puma due to its rarity. Race braking system For the Racing Puma, Ford partnered with Alcon Design to produce a 4-Piston Motorsport braking system. The Alcon Racing Front Brake calipers use x 28mm discs (253mm discs on the rear). These brakes are one of the defining attributes of the Racing Puma and they contribute significantly to enabling the standard car to pull a substantial 1.1g+ of braking force in the dry. This compares well to the normal Puma's ability to achieve 0.7g on regular, smaller, x brake discs and calipers. The brake calipers themselves, being derived from a racing set-up, do not come fitted with any protective rubber boots which prevent brake dust and debris from coming into contact with the brake pistons. This means the brakes should be serviced regularly (fully dismantled and properly cleaned) to maintain efficiency. Furthermore, the inner portions of the caliper were unpainted aluminium, and are susceptible to corrosion. Bodywork and handling The bodywork was beefed up with wider, lightweight aluminium front and steel rear overhangs; these covered a substantially widened track at both the front and rear, requiring longer drive shafts unique to the Racing Puma. A front aerodynamic air splitter and modified wider front bumper with sports grill were used. The wheels are MiM Speedline alloys, 17 x 7.5 in (with an ET28 Offset) and use 215/40 17 tyres (original fitment tyres were Michelin SXGT 215/40 R17), this increases the width from 1674 mm to 1770 mm. The S1600 rally Puma is just 35 mm wider than this. The Racing Puma's suspension was developed and honed by Ford's specialist division at Boreham, Essex, and the cars' monocoque shell was originally designed to be Ford's WRC entrant. Stig Blomqvist spent months fine-tuning the car's handling to ensure its chassis dynamics were perfected. The wider track, uprated springs, dampers, and special geometry settings refined the car's cornering poise to another level beyond the standard car's already excellent handling. The upshot of the improved chassis finesse was a bias towards tracks, hence the car has a very firm ride. All Racing Pumas left the factory painted metallic Imperial Blue to signify their special racing edition status. This colour was only used