Bridging the gap between the Mustang and Thunderbird, the first-ever pony car from Mercury started rolling off the assembly line in 1966 for the '67 model year. Fast-forward to 1999, and the Ford Motor Company’s premium division was in so much trouble that the Cougar morphed into a shadow of its former self. Namely, a front-driven liftback that left much to be desired as the ‘Stang soldiered on with eight cylinders and RWD.
The first generation – which is the one collectors love the most – was also available as a drag racer for the street thanks to the 428 Cobra Jet. The 7.0-liter blunderbuss was conservatively rated at 335 horsepower (340 PS) but the NHRA knew that Ford was lying. More likely to develop 390 to 410 horsepower (395 to 416 PS), the big-block V8 with motorsport know-how is a rare sight in the case of the Cougar.
The numbers-matching car in the photo gallery is one of only 2,250 examples of the Cougar Eliminator produced for the 1969 model year, one of only 302 equipped with the Cobra Jet V8. Featuring the correct ram-air induction system and the C6 Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission, the luxury muscle car is listed for sale by RK Motors Charlotte.
“Accepting offers” will have to make do instead of an actual price, but it’s not hard to estimate how much this bad boy is worth. One such unicorn was auctioned by RM Sotheby’s in March 2020 for the princely price of $69,300 and a similar model failed to meet the reserve on Bring a Trailer even though the highest bid was $78,000.
The R-Code brawler shows 79,000 miles (12,7138 kilometers) since new, and like all Eliminators, this fellow here comes with a 120 mph (193 kph) speedometer and a 6,000-rpm tachometer. Restored with great care in the 2000s by Signature Auto Classics of Columbus in Ohio, the Bright Blue Metallic hardtop coupe is offered with a Deluxe Marti Report, a clean title (North Carolina), as well as a magazine feature.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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