autoevolution
 

Digitally Blown Mercury Cougar Eliminator Resto Is a Quintessentially Extreme Hot Rod

Back when it invented a whole new car niche, the original Ford Mustang’s appeal was so great that the Blue oval company just had to piggyback on its hype.
Mercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCars 19 photos
Photo: adry53customs / hotcars.official / Instagram
Mercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCarsMercury Cougar Eliminator CGI restomod by adry53customs for HotCars
As such, you could think about all the Japanese mass-market brands and their premium twins (Honda and Acura, Nissan and Infiniti, or Toyota and Lexus) or today’s situation with Ford and Lincoln. And for the Ford Mustang, the posher equivalent was the Mercury Cougar.

Born for the 1967 model year, the nameplate lived across no less than seven generations until 1997 and then had the eighth and final stint between 1999 and 2002. Of course, the company’s diehard fans would very much remember the glory of its muscle car days rather than the last moments when it was just a Ford Probe sport compact three-door liftback coupe with front-wheel drive!

And there are many reasons for such a desire. There were the looks of the two-door hardtop and convertible original (including the hidden headlights), the association with the Ford Mustang that enabled the use of most of its powertrains, or the exclusivity of V8 potency, from the 289ci Windsor up to the humongous 427 and 428ci FE mills.

Oh, and let us not forget about the special editions or cool names for the trims. Chief among them was also the 1969-1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator, which acted as the brand’s counterpart for the Ford Mustang Mach 1 and especially the Boss 302. Both the Windsor and Cleveland V8s were offered as standard equipment, depending on the model year, but the Boss 302 engine became the most coveted exclusive perk.

Today, most fans will consider this as the proper response to Pontiac’s wild GTO The Judge, and many enthusiasts still crave one, even if the Mercury model did not garner the same hype and cult following as its rival. Alas, it was still enough to warrant the attention of the imaginative realm of digital car content creators.

Thus, meet Timothy Adry Emmanuel, the virtual artist better known as adry53customs on social media, who continues his lengthy dream ride periplus alongside HotCars, now also with a blown twist. As such, after recently playing with a lot of Blue Oval icons (Ford Mustang Boss 351, Ford Torino Talladega, as well as an Australian Ford Falcon XB), now is the time to switch brands but keep the CGI shenanigans within the same automotive group.

Thus, he created for the news outlet an equally bonkers Mercury Cougar Eliminator restomod that would look right at home next to that extreme Falcon XB. This is because his imagined Mercury is equally bonkers, all thanks to the thoroughly slammed attitude, the ultra-widebody aerodynamic treatment, the extreme aero tweaks, or the powertrain assembly. The latter is of the traditionally blown variety and comes complete with humongous side exhausts to show that it clearly means some nasty digital business!


If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories