The 2022 WRC season marked a turning point for rally's top tier: the introduction of Rally1 hybrid regulations brought a standardised 100kW electric motor unit alongside a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, producing roughly 500bhp combined. M-Sport Ford's answer was the Puma Rally1, built at Cockermouth on the Ford Puma GE platform and fielded under the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team banner. This Spark Model resin casting preserves a precise moment from that inaugural hybrid campaign.
M-Sport Ford's Puma Rally1: Purpose-Built for the Hybrid Era
Although the Ford Puma Rally1 shares its name with the road-going Puma GE crossover, the two cars share little beyond their exterior silhouette. The competition car was engineered from scratch by M-Sport in Cockermouth, UK, to comply with the 2022 Rally1 regulations. Every car on the grid that year ran the same Compact Dynamics hybrid unit, meaning development focus shifted to aerodynamics, suspension geometry and stage setup — areas where M-Sport's Cockermouth engineers had accumulated decades of experience across Ford's WRC programmes.
Round 8, Sardinia 2022: Loubet and Landais Deliver
Rally Italia Sardegna 2022 — WRC Round 8, held 2–5 June — ran across the characteristically abrasive gravel tracks of northern Sardinia. Pierre-Louis Loubet and his co-driver Vincent Landais, in their first full season together, piloted the #7 Puma Rally1 to 4th overall, the strongest finish of their 2022 partnership and one of the standout results for M-Sport Ford in the new hybrid era. The event was won by Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1, with Loubet and Landais securing a firm top-five placing behind them.
Spark Model's 1:43 Resin Casting
Spark Model produced this 1:43 scale model car in resin, consistent with the manufacturer's standard approach to WRC rally replicas at this scale. The model replicates the predominantly white M-Sport Ford livery with blue and red Ford branding as worn by the #7 car in Sardinia. Spark's 1:43 WRC range has long been the reference series for collectors of modern rally subjects, combining accurate livery reproduction with metal detail parts typical of the line.
In the Display Cabinet
This model fits naturally alongside other Spark 1:43 Ford Puma Rally1 subjects from the 2022 season — including the #8 car of Adrien Fourmaux — creating a coherent M-Sport Ford shelf within any WRC collection. It also pairs well with Spark's earlier Ford Fiesta WRC 1:43 models, tracing the M-Sport Ford lineage through successive WRC regulations. For collectors focused on the Rally1 hybrid era, grouping it with Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and Hyundai i20 N Rally1 subjects from the same 2022 rounds provides direct competitive context.
Frequently asked questions
What result does this model commemorate?
It represents the #7 Ford Puma Rally1 of Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais finishing 4th overall at Rally Italia Sardegna 2022, WRC Round 8 held 2–5 June 2022.
Who built the real Ford Puma Rally1?
M-Sport Ford constructed the Puma Rally1 at their facility in Cockermouth, UK, based on the Ford Puma GE road car platform and compliant with 2022 WRC Rally1 hybrid regulations.
What material is the Spark Model casting made from?
Spark Model produces their 1:43 WRC rally models in resin, with metal detail parts as standard for the range.
How does the Ford Puma Rally1 powertrain work under Rally1 rules?
All 2022 Rally1 cars used a standardised 100kW hybrid unit supplied by Compact Dynamics, paired with a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine for a combined output of approximately 500bhp.
