At $14,000, Is This 1987 Puma GTC A Full Brazilian Bargain?

Built in Brazil and offering VW power, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Puma is a rare opportunity for a special sports car. Will its price prove just as exceptional?

Unlike the clear delineation for fans between Van Halen and Van Hagar, the choice between the Bon Scott era of AC/DC and the later—and, admittedly, longer—Brian Johnson period isn’t so clear. It’s easy to appreciate Johnson’s contributions in tightening up the band’s sound while still preferring the earlier iteration with wild-man Scott at the helm and ear-worm guitar riffs overflowing each and every song. One of my favorite AC/DC songs of the Scott era is “Problem Child,” off the band’s 1976 album, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” In fact, I was reminded of that song while reading the comments on yesterday’s 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z. That car had been living in a collection, meaning it looks very nice but, unfortunately, is suffering from several age and lack-of-use-related issues. Taken together, those, along with the problem of finding parts for a nearly 40-year-old car, led to a good bit of grousing over the Daytona’s $8,500 asking price. Ultimately, that failed to find favor, causing this problem child of a car to fall in an 80% No Dice loss.

When you think of Brazil, what’s the first thing that springs to mind? Butt-floss bikinis? Churrasco-cooked steak served on swords? I’ll bet you didn’t think sports cars, but maybe today’s 1987 Puma GTC will change that assumption.

Initially named the Sociedade de Automóveis Lumimari after an amalgamation of its founder’s names, the Brazilian company that would eventually be commonly known as Puma started out in the early 1960s making racing cars on DKW chassis. When Volkswagen took over DKW, including its Brazilian arm, Veículos e Máquinas Agrícolas S.A. (Vemag), Puma switched to VW chassis for its cars, launching the Karmann Ghia-based Puma GT street car in 1968. Derivations and updates to this brand-defining model would carry the company well into the 1980s. Along the way, Puma entered into an agreement with General Motors do Brasil to build truck cabs, which led to the company introducing its own small line of commercial vehicles. That relationship also made the chassis of the Chevrolet Opala available to the company, upon which Puma built the bigger and more expensive GTB coupe.

Regardless of all the other models in Puma’s résumé, it’s the GTE/GTC that is probably best known, although, here in the U.S., Pumas as a whole are almost entirely unknown. This 1987 GTC is one of the later iterations of the model and, hence, rides on the platform of the VW Brasília rather than that of the Karmann Ghia, as did earlier cars. It even has the Brasília’s fluted tail lamps, somewhat awkwardly fitted to the GTC’s sculpted backside.

Being VW-based means that the GTC is rear-engine and air-cooled. According to the ad, however, it has a little more poop than when it left its São Paulo factory. That’s by way of the replacement of its original 1776 cc VW four with a 2276 cc version rocking a pair of Weber 40IDF carbs and a hot EMPI camshaft. Per the car show boast board provided in the ad, that’s good for 152 horsepower, which should prove entertaining in a car that weighs in at a claimed 1,795 pounds. Ahead of the flat-four is VW’s four-speed transaxle for some stick shift shenanigans.

Puma built a lot of GTs over the course of its two-decade-plus run, with reportedly over 23,000 hitting the streets. That makes the company one of the biggest cottage car makers in Brazilian history. It’s surprising, then, that these are almost unknown here in the States. The seller claims this car to be one of the few that were imported into the U.S., although while it has side marker lights, it lacks other U.S.-mandated safety equipment like five-mile-per-hour bumpers. It also has a speedo/odometer that reads in kilometers rather than miles. The seller has done the math for us, though, and claims the odometer to read around 30,000 miles.

The car looks to be in suitably nice condition for its age and those few miles/kilometers. The gold paint looks solid, and, at first glance, so, too, does the fiberglass bodywork underneath. The convertible top also appears to be in good condition and is manual, so there are no electrics or hydraulics about which to worry.

Six-spoke alloys underpin all that, and the car includes a fifth for the spare in the nose. Luggage space is extremely limited in these, although there is room behind the bucket seats for some bags. The rest of the interior looks like it would be a nice place to spend some time, with the only issues being some delamination of the back panel of the driver’s seat and the fact that the period-correct stereo probably only receives samba music.

No plate is shown on the car, and this being Facebook Marketplace, the ad was allowed to run without the car’s title status present. We can assume (yes, I know) that the title is clean and that since the car has been here a hot minute, all its import paperwork has long been filed. Heck, that also sticks it to the tariff touters! The asking price for this rare cat is $14,000, and that gets not only the car but a bunch of paperwork and other goodies to go along with it.

What do we think of that $14,000 asking for this pretty Puma? Does that feel like a deal for a show cat? Or does that price have you saying “me-ouch!”?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Facebook Marketplace out of Hilton, New York, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Bags for the hookup!

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