The 2025 Rallye Monte-Carlo, running 23–26 January from Gap to Monaco, was a milestone event for Irish motorsport: Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy stepped up from WRC2 to the Rally1 top tier for the first time, and they did it in mixed alpine conditions — wet, muddy and icy stages across four days — that would have unsettled far more experienced pairings. IXO Models has captured that moment in 1:18 die-cast, replicating M-Sport Ford's blue, yellow and red livery on car No. 55 as it crossed the Monaco finish ramp.
The Ford Puma Rally1 in Non-Hybrid Specification
The Ford Puma Rally1 is built around a bespoke tubular T45 steel spaceframe chassis with an integrated FIA multi-point roll cage, wearing the body silhouette of the road-going Ford Puma crossover. For 2025 the FIA removed mandatory hybrid hardware from the Rally1 class; the minimum weight dropped from 1,260 kg to 1,180 kg and the engine ran with a revised 35 mm air-intake restrictor. The powertrain is a Ford 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder producing approximately 380 hp and 420 Nm, driving all four wheels through a five-speed Sadev sequential gearbox and a 50/50 AWD system with mechanical front and rear LSDs. The Puma Rally1 made its competitive debut at the 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo and has run on 100% sustainable fossil-free fuel since that inaugural season.
A Debut by Numbers: 7th, Six Points, One Team Result
McErlean was 25 years old at the event, backed by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and coming off three full WRC2 seasons — his best prior result a 2nd place at the 2024 Rally de Portugal. Treacy, his new co-driver for 2025, had previously competed in the British Rally Championship and a handful of WRC Rally2 events. Monte Carlo was the Rally1 debut for both. They ran conservatively through the opening stages, moved into the top ten on Saturday afternoon and survived an icy pre-sunrise Stage 16 on Sunday morning to finish 7th overall in a time of 3:29:21.2 — 10 minutes 15.1 seconds behind winner Sébastien Ogier, who claimed his record-extending 10th Monte Carlo victory for Toyota. The six championship points McErlean and Treacy scored were the first Rally1 points of either career, and Team Principal Richard Millener confirmed they were M-Sport Ford's top finisher on the day.
IXO Models: Die-Cast Construction at 1:18
This 1:18 scale model is produced by IXO Models in die-cast zinc alloy, complemented by plastic and rubber components. The body is sealed — no opening parts — so the detail budget is directed entirely at exterior surfaces: the wide-body arches, rally aero package, and the blue, yellow and red M-Sport Ford livery with Red Bull title sponsorship graphics as raced at Monte Carlo. IXO also produced a companion 1:43 version of the same car, confirming the significance IXO attached to this specific entry. The 1:18 unit ships in a box measuring 305 × 150 × 137 mm and weighs approximately 1,132 g packaged.
In the Display Cabinet
Retailer approximations place the model at around 25 cm in length — plan for at least 28 cm of shelf depth to accommodate the full rally aero stance comfortably. The natural companion piece is the IXO 1:18 Ford Puma Rally1 No. 22 of Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka from the same event, M-Sport's second entry at the 2025 Monte-Carlo. Together they document Ford's complete Round 1 effort in the first non-hybrid season of the Rally1 era. Collectors tracing the M-Sport Ford WRC lineage will find earlier IXO 1:18 Puma Rally1 entries and Ford Fiesta WRC models a coherent context for this piece.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the 1:18 scale model?
The exact homologated body length of the Ford Puma Rally1 competition car has not been published in official sources, so a precise computed figure is not available. Retailer approximations based on the model's proportions place it at around 25 cm in length. The packaging measures 305 mm wide, so allow at least 28–30 cm of shelf space to display the model with its rally-spec wide-body stance clear of adjacent pieces.
Does the model have opening parts?
No. The body is a sealed, non-opening unit — doors, bonnet and boot are all fixed. The detail is concentrated on the exterior: the wide-body arches, rally aerodynamic package and the full M-Sport Ford blue, yellow and red livery with Red Bull sponsorship graphics as carried at the 2025 Rallye Monte-Carlo.
What materials is the model made from?
The body is die-cast zinc alloy. Smaller components — interior trim, aero parts — are plastic, and the tyres are rubber. IXO Models produces the model; the same maker also issued a 1:43 scale version of the same No. 55 entry.
Why is this car historically significant in the 2025 WRC season?
Two reasons stand out. First, it documents Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy's debut in the WRC Rally1 class — the first time either competed at the sport's top tier. Second, the 2025 season was the first in which the Ford Puma Rally1 ran without hybrid hardware following an FIA regulation change, making its minimum weight 1,180 kg rather than the previous 1,260 kg. Models from this season are therefore technically distinct from all 2022–2024 Puma Rally1 examples.
