Video: Ford Puma ST races against its downsized replica

Ford Europe has held an amusing race in the UK recently, putting a Puma ST crossover SUV up against its RC electric model scaled 1:10. One might think a toy car has no chance against the real thing, but consider that it can reach 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) in three seconds flat.

Like the SUV it is based upon, the RC car has a front-wheel-drive system. However, its electric motor only produces 402 Watts of power (not even one horsepower), while the real ST uses a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder to hit the asphalt with 200 PS (197 hp / 147 kW) through a six-speed manual transmission. Then again, it weighs too much to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) any faster than 6.7 seconds.

The racetracks were carefully selected to account for the differences between the cars. The real Puma ST hit a 1.9-kilometer (1.18-mile) long racetrack, while the RC car competed on a kart track 220 meters (722 feet) long. The layouts of both tracks were identical. The Goal for the real car was to run a full lap, and for the RC car to run three full laps.

British women’s rally champion Louise Cook got behind the steering wheel, while professional RC racer Lee Martin took up the remote control. In the end, an unfortunate error prevented the leading party from winning, although they did cross the finish line a mere half-second after the winner.