1969 Puma GT – Auction Car of the Week

The classic car world is utterly brilliant, isn’t it? Not only is full of our wheeled favourites from days gone by, it’s also still full of undiscovered, lesser known gems. Take, for example, this 1969 Puma GT. A stunning little machine that some may well know about, but many won’t. Mainly because they only made a few hundred of them, and of those, most were sold in Brazil. You see, building a car in Brazil in the ’60s was a big ask, so to get around import issues and the like, clever companies like Puma Veículos e Motores, as it was known as of 1964, built cars using existing platforms. In the case of the Puma GT, that platform was that of a Karmann Ghia, but shortened.

View the 1969 Puma GT auction here

Atop the VW chassis, complete with 1,500cc rear-mounted, air-cooled, flat-four engine, was a stunning body. Penned by Rino Malzoni, the Puma GT was an evolution of the earlier Puma, this time fitted with Volkswagen running gear rather than the DKW stuff of the earlier car. The platform suited the sculpted fibreglass body, as the whole thing was incredibly light and it allowed the engine to perform better than ever before.

Let’s face it though, the selling point here is not the running gear, nor is it the admittedly fascinating story behind the company. No, the selling point here is the way this little car looks. Malzoni clearly laboured over the design, bringing in all manner of elements from other famous cars of the time. While it’s obviously on a smaller scale, there are undeniable hints of Ferrari 275, there’s some ’60s Mustang in the B pillars and there’s even a bit of Datsun Z car in that Kamm-style tail. There’s a lot going on, but despite it happening on such a small canvas, it works. It’s a truly stunning little machine.

The car we have here, finished in gleaming off-white, was imported into France in 2021 before being subject to a whole host of restoration works and other improvements. The suspension has been overhauled, the brakes, too. The twin-carb Volkswagen engine has been checked over and is in rude health, the transmission functions as it should, it’s fighting fit. As for other elements, the interior has been re-trimmed in leather, and boasts harnesses, a leather-trimmed three-spoke steering wheel and a simple, but elegant wooden dash. It’s a simple cabin, but with a driving experience so visceral, it doesn’t need to be showy.

Externally, the paint is in good order, the glass too. It sits on a set of adorable period correct alloy wheels, complete with white-lettered Firestone tyres. There are some roach chips on the nose, and the rear bumper has a small crack, but nothing that detracts from the overall appeal of this car. Just pore over the pictures and you’ll agree – this is one exciting, captivating little machine. And now it could be yours. You’ll have to go to France should you be the winning bidder, but that’s fine, as it’ll be one brilliant drive home. And one with many a turned head, as this 1969 Puma GT could well be the only one of its kind in the whole of Europe. Talk about exclusivity!