![]() ![]() Models expanded to seven for '41 with a two/four-passenger coupe, business coupe, and wood-bodied station wagon. But four-door ragtops had waned in popularity, so this one was dropped for 1941. A $1212 convertible sedan was added for 1940, that year's heaviest and most-expensive Mercury. ![]() Initial offerings comprised two- and four-door "beetleback" sedans, a notchback sedan coupe, and a convertible coupe spanning a price range of $916-$1018. Styling for 1939-40 featured a crisply pointed "prow," beautifully curved fenders, and rounded body lines. A dashboard with strip-type instruments was also like Ford's, but Mercury's column-mounted gearshift was a talking point at the time. Mercury bowed on a 116-inch wheelbase, four inches longer than the '39 Ford's and sufficient to give its similar styling a "more-important" look. Well-tuned stock models were quicker than V-8 Fords, and were usually capable of turning close to 100 mph. Mercury quickly gained a reputation for performance appropriate to its name (after the winged messenger god in Greek mythology). Brake horsepower was 95 through 1941, then 100. A 239-cid L-head V-8, it was a slightly larger version of the Ford "V-8/85," having the same stroke but a larger bore. Return to Muscle Car Information Library.The original Mercury engine would remain in production through 1948. That may have pained the few buyers who looked to Mercury for a different-drummer sort of muscle car, but it really signaled a return to the marque's traditional mission. The division embraced the faux-luxury persona that swept Detroit in the 1970s. When high performance fell out of fashion after 1971, Mercury wasted no time folding up its muscle-car tent. With a full compliment of muscle hardware as standard equipment, this was best volume-production Mercury muscle car of the period, good for mid-14-seconds in the quarter-mile.įor those who couldn't afford the Spoiler, the Cyclone GT was Mercury's lower-priced alternative, with a 351 V-8 standard and the 429 optional. The 1970 Cyclone Spoiler in which it appeared finally had distinct styling from that of the Ford Torino. Mercury's largest-displacement performance engine was Ford's familiar 370-bhp 429-cid Cobra Jet, introduced for 1970. Mercury also fielded the Cyclone Spoiler and Spoiler II in 1969, complete with special-trim editions in the colors of racers Cale Yarborough and Dan Gurney. It backed up its bold looks with the full slate of Ford performance V-8s, from the 290-bhp Boss 302 to the 335-bhp 428 CJ. The 1969 and '70 Cougar Eliminator featured a stand-up rear-deck spoiler, prominent side stripes, and bright "Grabber" colors. The hottest Cougars and Cyclones soon adopted the new 428 Cobra Jet, and as the engine became Ford's flagship performance mill, late-'60s ads read "Lincoln-Mercury's zip code: CJ428."īy 1969, performance Mercurys were available with most of the bright colors, stripes, and body addenda that had become routine markers of American muscle. It used mainly Ford's 390-cid V-8, which unfortunately was just as overmatched here as it was in the Fairlane.Ĭougar had debuted for 1967 with the 390 as its biggest available engine and then upped its firepower for '68 with the Cougar GT-E, which came with a 390-bhp 427. What street cred Mercury mustered centered on the Comet Cyclone GT, which had graduated to the midsize Fairlane chassis for 1966. And Mercury's Cougar pony car was competitive in the SCCA's wildly popular Trans Am race series. Stock-class Comets cleaned up at the 1964 NHRA Winternationals, and Factory Experimental Comets were among the quickest and most advanced drag cars of the day. "Dyno" Don Nicholson and Ronnie Sox were just two of the top quarter-milers who piloted Mercury Comet compacts. Mercury's drag-racing credentials were just as strong. That was a bit ironic, since Mercury had fashioned a stalwart racing identity all its own.Ĭale Yarborough was among the NASCAR greats who drove Mercurys to stock-car victories in the '60s. Still, it was the Ford versions of these cars that got the lion's share of street-performance publicity. A full-fanged version Mercury Marauder X-100 was released in 1969. When Ford made its strong 427-cid V-8 available, Mercury got that, too. The speed-demon Mercury for '62 and '63 was the Marauder S-55 with the optional 405-bhp 406-cid Ford V-8. Ford had taken care to include Mercury in its early-'60s hot-engine efforts. ![]() That performance presence didn't quite come out of nowhere.
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