Puma

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Puma

  • Brazil

Puma Automóveis Ltda., or simply Puma, is a Brazilian manufacturer of sports cars and small trucks that began its activities in 1963 as Lumimari (named after the initials of its founders and partners: Luiz Roberto Alves da Costa, Milton Masteguin, Mario Cezar de Camargo Filho and Rino Malzoni) which later became Puma Veículos e Motores the following year and ten years later, in 1974, as Puma Indústria de Veículos SA.

The brand ceded the production rights for a limited time to several companies, including the Brazilian companies: Araucária Veículos Ltda and later to Alfa Metias Veículos Ltda, and also to a company in South Africa in the following years: 1973–1974, 1989–1991 and 2007 until 2014, when the production rights for Puma models expired.

The company was revived in 2013 under the Puma Automóveis Ltda name, headquartered in the countryside of São Paulo, by a former industrial director of Puma Indústria de Veículos S/A. New projects include the Puma P-052 (a prototype made especially for motorsports), and the Puma GT Lumimari, named in honor of the company's original title.