Rino Malzoni produced his first sports coupé back in 1962. After many modifications, this car was produced in small series in 1964, laying the foundation for the worldwide success of the Puma brand. Today we can look back on more than 20 Puma models and more than 24,000 Puma vehicles.
Together with Vemag, the cars were built between 1962 and 1967 using DKW technology. In 1968, the Volkswagen-based Puma was built and in 1970, Rino Malzoni, together with Britinho, started to develop the Puma with GM technology. The Puma GTB was the most expensive car available in Brazil for over 10 years.
Puma cars were not only built in Sao Paulo. In 1973, the coupé was modified to fit a right-hand drive VW Beetle chassis. In South Africa, the Puma was produced in small numbers between 1973 and 2019.
This book tells the story of the Puma sports car brand in Brazil, provides information on export activities to USA, Canada, Europe and Japan, and covers production activities in South Africa.