Mercury Cougar: Much More Than a Fancy Mustang
When Ford Motor Company identified a product gap between its Mustang sporty car and Thunderbird personal luxury car in the 1960s, its Lincoln-Mercury division integrated key elements of both in creating a solution that neatly slotted between them - the Cougar.
Released in 1967, early marketing campaigns described it as "Untamed Elegance" which highlighted how the Cougar combined the wildness of Mustang with the class and sophistication of Thunderbird.
Although it shared Mustang underpinnings, which mirrored a similar arrangement by GM in creating its equally new Chevrolet Camaro and plusher Pontiac Firebird, the Cougar’s unique styling ensured complete visual separation from its donor.
Image: Ford
This was intentional of course, as Mercury wanted the Cougar to establish its own market niche, which offered more luxury than the Mustang but sportier road manners than the Thunderbird, with a touch of European flair. Or as Mercury called it: "America's first luxury sports car at a popular price!"
In its Buyers Guide for 1967, Motor Trend claimed that "while it shares a great deal with the wildly successful Mustang, the Cougar has its own aura and personality, so it isn’t just a repeat of the car that started the whole (pony car) rage.”
The same publication also awarded the Cougar its 1967 Car of the Year award, which made it the first and only Mercury-branded vehicle to earn that distinction. So, although often referred to as just a "fancy Mustang" or "dressed-up Mustang" there was clearly more to the Cougar than these dismissive descriptions would suggest.
Image: Ford
The Cougar remained in production through numerous generations until 2002, but none could recapture the sheer wow factor of the original with its 1960s Mustang-bred racing prowess, unique design features and historical firsts which made it such a stand-out.
So, this review focuses primarily on the original Cougar (1967-1970) to validate its status as one of Detroit's Super Models.
Image: Ford
T-5 and T-7
The Cougar’s conception can be traced to the early 1960s, when Ford and Mercury styling teams pitched competing design proposals for what was known internally as the T-5 program, which evolved into the Mustang based on a winning Ford design.
However, the Mercury team also did renderings of a larger and more luxurious version with an emphasis on standalone styling coded T-7, which management proposed for public release alongside the T-5. However, Dearborn put a hold on the proposal until the Mustang proved to be the instant hit Ford hoped it would be when launched in 1964.
It was indeed fortunate for Mercury that the evocative Cougar name was available, given that it was commonly associated internally with the T-5 project until advanced stages of its development.
The Cougar’s sleek styling was a masterstroke of repackaging, given that it shared much of the latest 1967 Mustang’s underpinnings yet none of its external sheet metal. As a result, for many buyers it was perceived as a completely different vehicle, which would deliver handsome rewards for Lincoln-Mercury and its dealers.
Image: Ford
While the Cougar adopted the Mustang’s sporty long-bonnet-short-boot proportions, its styling was enhanced by a 111-inch wheelbase which was 3.0-inches (76mm) longer than the Mustang’s. The Cougar was also 6.7-inches (170mm) longer overall.
Most of the extra wheelbase length was added ahead of the Cougar’s firewall, which allowed stylists to stretch its bonnet and front fenders to accentuate the Mustang’s alluring silhouette.
The longer wheelbase was also claimed to provide more rear seat legroom than Mustang. So, it not only enhanced the Cougar’s styling and passenger comfort in keeping with its upmarket image, but along with the Cougar's higher kerb weight and revised spring/damper settings also contributed to supple yet responsive ride and handling that was widely praised by magazine road-testers.
Image: Ford
Arguably the most captivating styling feature was the Cougar’s split grille. Each side was characterised by a series of fine vertical chrome strips, which in another first for a Mercury-branded vehicle hid dual headlights behind vacuum-operated 'eyelids' that retracted when the lights were switched on.
The convex taillights were similar in appearance to these grille sections, which provided attractive styling cohesion between the front and rear. The taillights also housed sequential indicator lights as seen in the Thunderbird, which illuminated in a running sequence across the lenses.
Image: Ford
Cougar goes hunting
The Cougar started to sink its claws into the US car market from the day it went on sale in September 1966 as a 1967 model, in the North American tradition of annual automotive launches.
It soon became apparent to the product-planners that initial sales forecasts of around 85,000 units in its first year were way too conservative. After its first 12 months in the showrooms, the new Cougar reportedly sold more than 150,000 units!
Although that figure pales by comparison to the Mustang in its first year on sale, it was an amazing result given that the Cougar sold about double the number originally forecast, which accounted for a large chunk of 1967 sales across the entire Lincoln-Mercury division.
The Cougar was initially released only as a two-door hardtop. Available initially as the standard Cougar, with a premium XR-7 trim level introduced in early 1967, its pricing made sense to car buyers given its positioning between Mustang and Thunderbird.
For example, its $2854 base price (about $27,500 today) was $284 more than a Mustang equivalent, while at the top of the Cougar price scale a fully optioned XR-7 was $4500 (about $43,500), or around the base price of a Thunderbird.
Image: Ford
“One of the drawing cards happened to be the number of items found optional on other cars that came standard on Cougar,” according to Motor Trend. It was also offered with nearly every Mercury division option.
The Cougar engine line-up was exclusively eight-cylinder, from a choice of 'Windsor' two-barrel or four-barrel 289cid (4.7-litre) V8s up to a thumping 390cid (6.4-litre) 'Marauder' big-block option with 320hp (239kW). There were also standard three-speed and optional four-speed manuals, but nearly 80 per cent of cars were ordered with the optional three-speed auto.
The XR-7 was a $185 (about $1800 today) premium trim option that brought "European style and features" including classy leather-appointed trim, faux woodgrain dash with full instrumentation, black gauge faces, toggle switches and an overhead console. Auto-equipped XR-7s came with a T-bar console shifter.
Also offered in 1967 was the GT option which bundled the big 390 V8 with a quicker steering ratio and upgraded brakes, suspension, wheels and tyres. So, luxury and performance shared equal billing, like the European thoroughbreds which so inspired the Cougar’s creators.
Image: Ford
Its stunning sales weren’t the only surprise for Mercury in 1967. Another emerged in the form of a legal challenge from British marque Jaguar, which claimed that the new Cougar’s "wild cat" silhouette depicted in its emblem was too close to its own world-famous feline and demanded changes. Mercury placated Jaguar by agreeing to add the word COUGAR below the silhouette until the 1969 model year.
Also, Mercury’s "The Man’s Car" marketing slogan for its 1967 range was clearly at odds with what was happening in Cougar showrooms, according to Motor Trend:
“When the Cougar was revealed to the public in 1966, the mindset held that men controlled the money and made the decision on the major purchases. That may have held true but it was an idea on its way to extinction. From the beginning, women were clearly taken by the comfort and luxury of the Cougar. At the end of the first year, statistics indicated that one in six of the Cougars sold was purchased by a woman.”
Image: Ford
Another surprise perhaps was how well the original Cougar performed in the 1967 US Trans-Am road racing series against Mustang, Camaro, Barracuda and Dart 'pony car' rivals.
The factory-backed Cougars, cunningly race-prepared by NASCAR whiz Bud Moore and driven by American greats like Parnelli Jones and Dan Gurney, narrowly lost the title fight to their Mustang rivals by a mere two points despite winning the same number of races.
However, Dearborn HQ saw this fierce racing rivalry within its ranks as counter-productive and the Cougar team was disbanded after its first and only Trans-Am season.
Even so, to commemorate that achievement, in 1967 (and 1968) Mercury offered the Dan Gurney Special appearance option for standard and XR-7 Cougars, which included a unique driver’s signature decal, turbine-style wheel covers, whitewall tyres and a chrome engine dress-up kit for the 289 V8.
Image: Ford
1968
The Cougar’s racing success and subsequent boost in youth appeal inspired Mercury to raise the octane level in 1968 with release of the GT-E model, with a distinctive grille redesign, argent lower-body paint with chrome trim and special body badges.
But the biggest news was under the bonnet, as the GT-E was equipped with no less than a racing-derived 427cid (7.0-litre) 'side-oiler' big block V8 rated at 390bhp (291kW). Power-assisted front disc brakes were standard but it was available only with a three-speed auto.
Mercury soon introduced an option for GT-E buyers in the form of Ford’s milder and more street-friendly 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air packing 335bhp (250kW), which unlike the competition-bred 427 was available with a four-speed manual.
Image: Ford
1968 also saw Mercury double-down on its tenuous connection with Dan Gurney with the XR7-G (G for Gurney) option. This was a separate deal to the original Dan Gurney Special and although exclusive to XR-7 buyers, was essentially another appearance package with more of a competition focus.
The 289 V8 was replaced by its larger 302cid (4.9-litre) Windsor sibling to meet new federal emissions standards. A two-barrel version of the Marauder 390 V8 was also introduced for non-GT Cougars rated at 280bhp (209kW).
There were no styling changes for 1968 apart from the addition of side-marker lights to comply with the latest federal road safety mandates.
However, in yet another Cougar first, buyers could order an electric sunroof as an option, which it’s claimed was the first of its type offered in a Mercury-branded vehicle. Surprisingly perhaps, it was not a popular choice for Cougar buyers.
Image: Ford
1969
Like the Mustang on which it was based, the Cougar was given a mid-cycle styling revision that brought significant changes, yet retained some key design cues to ensure it was an unmistakable continuation of the bloodline.
For example, it kept the original hidden-headlight function and upswept front bumper-ends, but the split-grille was replaced by a full-width design with fine horizontal lines and a matching centre-piece. New taillight lenses were now concave in shape and the vent windows were deleted.
The crisp, straight body sides of the original became more curvaceous, with adoption of the latest 'Coke-bottle' rear hip-line and curved side contours that swept from the nose down to the rear wheel arches.
Image: Ford
A new convertible body style, with a power-operated folding top as standard equipment, was a welcome addition and available in both base and XR-7 trim levels.
The 302 V8 was replaced by a larger 351cid (5.8-litre) Windsor sibling, the big 390 was offered solely as a 320bhp four-barrel and the premium 428 Cobra Jet was still rated at 335bhp.
The GT option was replaced by the exciting new Eliminator package. All Cougar engines were offered but Ford’s new Boss 302 Trans-Am engine was exclusive, available in four-barrel 290bhp street form or a dual four-barrel competition form. Even so, in a foreboding sign, Cougar sales dropped 15 per cent for 1969.
Image: Ford
1970
Mercury designers appeared to go back to the future in delivering a final facelift for the first-gen Cougar in 1970.
The split-grille theme returned, with a mild revision of the vertical chrome strip treatment and a body-coloured centre section which overall appeared to be a mix of 1967 and 1969 designs.
Achieving this required a new bonnet, front fenders and front bumper; the latter also retaining the upturned ends but now with a prominent central protrusion to accommodate this new design. The concave taillights remained with minor changes, while safety upgrades included high-backed ‘tombstone’ bucket seats.
The standard 351 Windsor V8 was replaced by the all-new 'Cleveland' with the same 351-4V specification but rated at 300bhp (224kW). As a result, the 390 was dropped, with the remaining premium performance option being the 428 Cobra Jet.
Image: Ford
The Eliminator for 1970, which featured minor cosmetic changes, adopted the new 351-4V Cleveland V8 as its standard engine. Higher-performance options included the 428 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet plus the Trans-Am-winning Boss 302 which remained exclusive to the Eliminator.
Even so, Cougar’s sharp 27 per cent sales decline for 1970 was almost double that of the previous year. This was perhaps more a reflection of softening demand for homegrown sporty cars across the board, given increasingly tough federal road safety and emission mandates combined with sky-rocketing insurance premiums aimed at quelling Detroit’s obsession with high performance.
The short-lived second generation ran from 1971 to 1973. Although it shared its underpinnings with the latest Mustang generation, by then the original pony car's key dimensions and kerb weights had grown so much since its launch in 1964 (like 300mm longer and 270kg heavier!) that the Cougar could not escape its inevitable evolution from "America's first luxury sports car" into a personal luxury car.
