Need some fresh ideas? Why not ask your fans
It is not very often that manufacturers give fans the chance to come up with their own designs but when they do, the result can be quite outstanding. Case in point: the new Ford Puma ST Gold Edition.
According to the Blue Oval, the sporty crossover is a result of a 10-day “innovative experiment in human centred design” that saw fans cast almost 275,000 votes on its Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Not only they were allowed to pick, among other things, the exterior colour, decals, badging and seatbelt, the fans were also given the chance to choose the name for this model. Thankfully, 59 percent of the votes went to ‘Puma ST Gold Edition’ instead of the ‘Puma ST 24K Edition’, which sounds a little tacky, to be honest.
As you can see, the crossover sports a black exterior paint that sets as a background for the grey racing stripe with gold trim. The rims are also in gold, while the callipers come in red. Inside, gold stitching and stripes can be found on the seats.
As a refresher, the Puma ST is powered by 1.5-litre EcoBoost mill that makes 200 PS and 320 Nm. With a six-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels, it can complete the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 6.7 seconds.
As for this Gold Edition, Ford says it will be available later this year, although production numbers and pricing are yet to be confirmed.
PRESS RELEASE
The results are in. Following an innovative experiment in human centred design, Ford today revealed the winning specification of the new Puma ST Gold Edition that will be available to order in limited numbers from later this year.
Ford fans cast almost 275,000 votes in a series of polls on the automaker’s Twitter and Instagram channels over the course of 10 days, choosing the colour combinations of elements including the model’s paint, decals and brake callipers – as well as deciding its name.
As a result, the first-ever Ford Performance model to feature crowd-sourced design will have the following features:
| Poll | Winning option | Losing option |
| Exterior Paint | Black – 56 per cent | Grey |
| Brake Callipers | Red – 74 per cent | Black |
| Seatbelt Stitching | Grey – 87 per cent | Black |
| Exterior Decals | Lines – 74 per cent | Stripes |
| Exterior Badging | ST Badges – 79 per cent | No badges |
| Scuff Plates | Puma – 53 per cent | Ford Performance |
| Pride Plate | ST – 55 per cent | Puma |
| Name | Puma ST Gold Edition – 59 per cent | Puma ST 24K Edition |
The results of each poll were collected from individual markets across Europe in addition to Ford of Europe’s central channels before being collated to reach an overall winner.
“To create something truly special for our loyal performance fans, we’ve moved to a forward-looking approach in co-creating the Puma ST Gold Edition with them. The number of votes cast shows just how enthusiastic our customers are – and that they have excellent taste,” said Amko Leenarts, director, Design, Ford of Europe. “It’s all in the details, and with this special edition, our fans have configured a truly desirable product.”
The Puma ST Gold Edition will be powered by a 200 PS 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine for 0‑100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration in 6.7 seconds. 1 Advanced, Sports Technologies include selectable Drive Modes including Sport, Track and Eco, 2 as well as a unique-in-segment limited-slip differential option, patented force vectoring springs and unique suspension and steering specifications for exceptional cornering responses. Deliveries will commence towards the end of this year.
Ford and its Team Fordzilla esports team last year created the Team Fordzilla P1 concept using a similar approach, with collaboration between the company’s designers and the gaming community.
