1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Cale Yarborough Special

The NASCAR Aero Wars were in full force in 1969, and Mercury was right in the middle of all the action. Realizing that pure horsepower would not necessarily put them in the winner's circle, like Ford, they created a very special automobile, called the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II.

With an extended, sloped nose that was a full 19.5-inches longer than a standard Cyclone and even longer than the Ford Talladega, and other modifications, the Spoiler II would prove to be even faster than the Talladega. To meet eligibility requirements, a minimum of 500 units were to be produced for public consumption. With the hours of additional work required in extending the fenders and creating the sloped nose, this was no small feat, but Mercury was determined to dominate the tracks on Sunday so that it would sell even more cars on Monday.

When production ended in 1969, it is said that they may have not actually built the required minimum. It is believed that some creative parking with about 150 'regular' nose Cyclones mixed in allowed the cars to be sanctioned. Whether this is indeed true, we may never know.

The Spoiler was offered in two variations; the Blue and White Dan Gurney Special and the Red and White Cale Yarborough Special, as seen here. This example is believed to be one of 285 produced and is powered by the 351 cubic-inch V8 mated to a C6 automatic transmission.