1971 Mercury Cougar

The first generation of styling introduced on the 1967 Mercury Cougar continued through 1970. Essentially a rebadged Ford Mustang, its popularity was immediate, with sales accounting for nearly forty-percent of the 1967 Lincoln-Mercury sales. Motor Trend awarded it their Car of the Year award for 1967 making it the first Lincoln-Mercury to receive this honor.

The 1971 Mercury Cougar received a newly restyled front end with the four headlights now exposed and recessed. There were two body styles, a hardtop coupe and a convertible, available on both the base series and the XR-7 Series. The base engine on both series including a V-8 that displaced 351 cubic-inches and all of the 1971 Mercury V8 engines had overhead valves and a cast-iron block. The 351 CID V8 with two carburetors and 9.0:1 compression, delivered 240 horsepower at 4,600 RPM, while the four-barrel carburetor setup delivered 285 horsepower. The 429ci Super Cobra Jet with four-barrel carburetors offered 370 horsepower. The base transmission was a three-speed manual, with a four-speed manual with Hurst Shifter and a SelectShift automatic offered as optional equipment.

Styling updates for 1971 including signal lights that now wrapped around the front fenders, and the center grille with vertical bars was framed in chrome with an ornament placed in its center.

The wheelbase measured 112.1-inches, the width of 75.8-inches, the height of 50.8-inches, and the overall length of 196.7-inches. It would grow to 199.5-inches by 1973. The size and performance of the Mercury Cougar were similar to the intermediate Cyclone coupe, and since more buyers preferred the Cougar over the Cyclone, the latter model was phased out during 1972.

The hardtop coupe was priced at $3,290 and 34,008 examples constructed while the convertible listed for $3,680 and 1,723 were built.

Distinguishable features of the Cougar XR-7 included chrome rocker panels, a unique vinyl-covered half-roof, and wheel covers with ornamentation. The interior housed high-back bucket seats with leather seating surfaces, a remote-control left-hand racing mirror, and a dash panel with a trip odometer, toggle switches, and a tachometer. Both the instrument board and the steering wheel had woodgrain appliques. The windshield on the convertible was tinted. The hardtop coupe listed for $3,630 and 25,416 examples were built while the convertible listed for $3,875 and 1,717 examples were constructed.

The combined 62,864 constructed were less than the 72,343 built in 1970, the 100,069 built for 1969, 113,720 in 1968, and over half of the 150,893 units constructed in 1967.

The styling introduced in 1971 would continue through 1973 while mild updates along the way. This generation would be the final to offer a convertible body style on the Cougar line and the final version derived from its Ford Mustang sibling. The Cougar models that followed, from 1974 to 1997, were marketed as either a 'counterpart' or 'junior' version of the Ford Thunderbird.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2009