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Puma

Brazil Est. 1964 Brazilian Kit Sports Cars South America's Fiberglass Sports Car Icon

Puma is Brazil's most celebrated sports car manufacturer — producing elegant fibreglass-bodied coupes and roadsters on Volkswagen Beetle and later DKW platforms that made sports car ownership accessible in South America.

1964

Founded

Brazil

Origin

GTB

Iconic Model

São Paulo

Headquarters

Origins & History

Puma was founded in 1964 in São Paulo, Brazil, by Genaro Malzoni, a sugar cane entrepreneur who had a passion for sports cars. Malzoni initially developed fibreglass-bodied sports car bodies to be fitted over the DKW-Vemag platform — a two-stroke front-wheel-drive German car that was being assembled in Brazil under licence. The resulting cars combined European mechanical engineering with handsome Italian-influenced fibreglass coachwork to produce affordable sports cars suited to Brazilian conditions.

As DKW production ended in Brazil, Puma transitioned to Volkswagen Beetle mechanicals — a pragmatic choice that provided a far more widely available and easily serviced mechanical platform. The GTB and GT models on Volkswagen mechanicals became Puma's defining products, offering genuine sports car style and performance at a price accessible to middle-class Brazilian buyers. The Volkswagen platform's simplicity and abundant parts availability gave Puma owners confidence in long-term ownership.

Puma reached its peak in the 1970s and early 1980s, producing genuinely attractive and well-designed sports cars that earned respect in Brazilian motorsport. The company survived several ownership changes and economic crises that plagued the Brazilian automobile industry, but ultimately ceased production as international competition and economic conditions made small-volume sports car manufacture commercially unviable. Puma remains a beloved symbol of Brazilian automotive heritage.

Key Milestones

1964

Genaro Malzoni produces the first Puma sports car in São Paulo — a fibreglass-bodied coupe built on DKW-Vemag mechanicals, demonstrating that Brazilian conditions and tastes could support a domestic sports car industry.

1969

Puma GT and GTB introduced — the definitive Puma models on Volkswagen Beetle mechanicals enter production; the combination of elegant Italian-influenced fibreglass styling with VW running gear creates an accessible sports car for the Brazilian market and establishes Puma as a genuine manufacturer.

1976

Puma GTE launched — a more refined and higher-specification version of the GT with improved interior and performance options; the GTE represents Puma at its most sophisticated, demonstrating the company's design and engineering capability within the constraints of a small-volume manufacturer.

1985

Ownership changes and production difficulties — Puma faces economic pressures from Brazil's difficult economic environment and increasing international competition; despite several attempts to continue production with new owners and updated models, the original Puma sports car story effectively concludes.

Notable Models

Puma's vehicle range centred on fibreglass-bodied sports coupes and roadsters — elegant, lightweight cars that brought sports car style and performance to the Brazilian market at accessible prices.

Puma GTB

The definitive Puma — a fibreglass-bodied sports coupe on Volkswagen Beetle mechanicals that combined elegant styling with the mechanical reliability and parts availability of the most common car platform in Brazil. The GTB's lightweight fibreglass body over a VW floorpan gave it a power-to-weight ratio that allowed genuine sporting performance, while the VW's ubiquitous flat-four engine and robust gearbox ensured practical ownership.

Puma GTE

The premium Puma — a more refined version of the GT with upmarket interior trim, additional equipment, and performance options including turbocharged engine variants. The GTE targeted buyers who wanted the Puma's sports car character with more sophisticated appointments, and demonstrated that Puma could produce genuinely competitive sports cars within the constraints of a small-volume South American manufacturer.

Puma AMV (DKW-era)

The original Puma concept — built on the DKW-Vemag two-stroke front-wheel-drive platform, the AMV demonstrated Genaro Malzoni's ability to clothe an unconventional mechanical platform in attractive fibreglass coachwork. Though limited in numbers, the DKW-era Puma established the design language and manufacturing approach that would define the company's identity when it moved to Volkswagen mechanicals.

Engineering Philosophy

Puma's technical approach was shaped by the practical constraints of Brazilian manufacturing — using fibreglass bodies over accessible production car platforms to create sports cars that could be produced, sold, and maintained within the limitations of the Brazilian parts supply and service network.

Fibreglass body construction — Puma's use of fibreglass coachwork over production car mechanicals allowed complex and attractive shapes to be produced at low volume without the expensive metal stamping tools that a steel-bodied car would require
VW mechanical platform advantage — adopting the Volkswagen Beetle's floorpan gave Puma access to the most widely available and easily serviced mechanical platform in Brazil, ensuring that customers throughout the country could find workshops capable of maintaining their cars
Weight reduction advantage — Puma's fibreglass bodies were significantly lighter than equivalent steel-bodied cars, giving the VW-engined models a performance advantage disproportionate to their modest engine output
Brazilian motorsport participation — Puma's participation in Brazilian motorsport served as both product development laboratory and marketing platform, demonstrating the cars' capabilities to a motorsport-interested public

Puma in Azerbaijan

Puma vehicles are not present in Azerbaijan — the brand was exclusively distributed in Brazil and never exported to Europe or the former Soviet space. Any Puma appearing in Azerbaijan would be an extraordinary personal import from South America.

For Azerbaijani sports car enthusiasts, Puma represents an fascinating chapter of South American automotive creativity — demonstrating that inspired design and practical engineering could produce genuinely attractive sports cars in a developing economy, using the same mass-produced mechanical foundations that powered everyday transport.

Why Puma Matters

Brazilian industrial creativity: Puma demonstrated that developing economies could produce original and attractive sports cars — not just assembled foreign designs — using locally available materials, technology, and production methods adapted to local conditions.
Accessible sports car philosophy: By building on Volkswagen Beetle mechanicals, Puma made sports car ownership practical and affordable for Brazilian buyers, creating a sports car culture in a market where pure-bred European sports cars were financially inaccessible to most people.
Fibreglass design mastery: Puma's fibreglass bodies showed how handcrafted construction methods could produce sports car shapes of genuine elegance — demonstrating that the Italian coachbuilding tradition of custom bodies over production mechanicals could be adapted to South American conditions.
Automotive heritage pioneer: Puma remains Brazil's most celebrated sports car brand — a source of national automotive pride that demonstrated the country's engineering and design capability long before modern Brazilian automotive production established itself.

Iconic Models in Pictures

Puma vehicles — a visual selection of the iconic models produced by this manufacturer.