Ford's former intermediate brand, Mercury, has been in the spotlight after a viral incident involving a 1,300 HP Mercury Comet. With that said, Mercury has made some truly legendary cars (and a few bad but we're not talking about those today). With cars like the Cougar to the Cyclone, they were a front-runner in The Muscle Car Era. Mercury was also an important figure in the heyday of NASCAR, running teams throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Unfortunately, Mercury has been mostly forgotten about after they were disbanded in 2011 due to Ford's financial woes and the effects of the 2008 Financial Crisis.
The last Mercury rolled off the assembly line in January 2011, and it was a base model Grand Marquis. Despite their less-than-spectacular send-off, Mercury produced some amazing and flamboyant cars. Some like the Mercury Cougar are better known, but for the most part, the Ford-produced counterparts took more notice either due to NASCAR wins, or higher sales. With that said though, that doesn't mean Mercury didn't build some mean muscle cars that could produce serious performance figures.
Here are 9 Mercury muscle cars everyone has forgotten about.
9 Mercury Montego GT
Ever want a Ford Torino but see yourself as a more sophisticated type? The Montego GT is the car for you. The Montego shared the same basic architecture as the Ford Torino and Mercury Cyclone, but with a well-appointed interior with no shortage of wood and leather.
The Montego was only sold for two model years, 1971 and 1972. The car was rather successful, with the rise of personal luxury cars and the impressive performance being to thank. The 1971 Montego GT could get to 60 in about 7 seconds, serious performance for a car weighing well over two tons.
8 Mercury Marauder (Revival)
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Mercury's last serious performance outing was memorable, with bold, aggressive looks and a powerful 4.6L V8. The 4.6L V8 was good for 302 horsepower and a 0-60 time of 8 seconds.
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Only 11,000 cars were produced over two years, so they're hard to come by, especially compared to other panther-body cars such as the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car. A good example can easily fetch above $20,000 if that's any testament to the collectible and desirability of the Mercury Marauder.
7 Mercury Capri RS (2nd Generation)
The Mercury Capri RS was a fox-body Mustang with class and sophistication. Wearing a simpler paint job and less aggressive lines, but still using the iconic 5.0L V8 and a 5-speed manual transmission. The Capri RS matched the performance of the Mustang GT in any given year.
The Capri RS never caught on like other fox-based cars such as the Ford Thunderbird, Lincoln MKVII, and of course the Ford Mustang GT. The Capri RS was one of the most successful racing cars to be fielded by the Ford Motor Company despite its lackluster sales. The Capri won the Trans-Am series twice, in 1984 and 1985.
6 Mercury Cougar XR-7 (2nd Generation)
The first-generation Mercury Cougar is typically regarded as one of the most excellent muscle cars of the 1960s, but most people have all but forgotten about the second-generation Cougar.
The second generation was slotted to compete with cars like the Oldsmobile Cutlass and Dodge Coronet, not small pony cars such as its 60s counterpart. The 1971 model used the massive 429 cubic-inch V8 that made 370 horsepower. The second-generation Cougar met its fate in 1974 and became a personal luxury coupe.
5 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT
The Cyclone was Mercury's midsize sedan, meant to compete against cars like the Dodge Coronet and Pontiac LeMans. Mercury needed a high-performance version to compete with the 426 HEMI-powered Coronets and the Pontiac GTO, and with its Ford sibling, the Fairlane 500.
Mercury's solution was throwing the massive 390 cubic-inch V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission. The 390 made about 400 horsepower and could get to 60mph in about 6.5 seconds.
4 Mercury Marauder
The Mercury Marauder was Mercury's counterpart to the Ford Galaxy, a full size-bruiser with a monstrous engine. The Marauder used the 427 cubic-inch V8 and made almost 400 horsepower...not too shabby for a car from the 1960s.
The Marauder found some mild success in NASCAR and laid the groundwork for other large muscle cars like the Chrysler 300M and the Marauder of the 21st century.
3 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
The Mercury Cougar is quite possibly the best-known car to ever be produced by the company, but many have never heard of the top-of-the-line Eliminator version sold at the height of the muscle car era.
The Cougar Eliminator made use of the massive 428 Cobra Jet V8, good for a 0-60 time of 6 seconds, comparable to many modern muscle cars. It'll take a cool $100k to get a Cougar Eliminator in your garage today though, so maybe you're better off just getting a Mustang like the rest of us.
2 Mercury Comet A/FX 427
It'd probably help if we explained what an FX car is first. The FX class was birthed in NHRA Drag Racing in 1962 when Ford and Chrysler were starting building factory-backed prototypes for drag racing (FX stands for Factory Excremental). These cars were the 1960s equivalent of cars like the Dodge Drag-Pak
The Comet A/FX was extremely lightweight, weighing around 3,000lbs. The car used the 427 cubic inch V8 and made 425 horsepower. The Comet could finish the 1320 in 10.5 seconds...faster than most modern muscle cars. The Comet A/FX met its fate when the FX class was canceled for the 1967 season.
1 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler 429
The Mercury Cyclone was Mercury's answer to the Dodge Charger and sister-car Ford Torino. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler was Mercury's answer to the aero wars of the 1970 NASCAR season,
The Mercury Cyclone had a 4-cluster gauge and 3.91 gears in the back, scooting the car with help from the 429 cubic-inch V8 to 60mph in 6.1 seconds. The Cyclone was discontinued in 1971 due to new emissions regulations and the looming gas crisis, but we can't help but look back at this Mercury monster.