1957 Mercury Montclair

The Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company produced the Montclair from 1955 to 1957. Its styling and design were sourced from the Mercury XM-800 concept car of 1954. When introduced, the Montclair was Mercury's premium automobile, although by the close of production (in 1957), the Turnpike Cruiser would surpass the Montclair, and the Montclair would become the company's mid-range vehicle.

The 1957 Mercury Montclair was powered by an overhead-valve V8 displacing 312 cubic inches and offering 255 horsepower. An automatic transmission was standard, and a 368 CID V8 offering 290 horsepower was optional, as was the M-335 power package which added a two four-barrel carburetor to the 368 engine, boosting horsepower to 335 bhp.

The Mercury Montclair was offered as a four-door hardtop sedan, sedan, hardtop coupe, and convertible. The most popular was the hardtop coupe which found 30,111 buyers willing to spend the factory price of $3,240. The hardtop sedan was also popular with 21,156 examples produced. The convertible was the most exclusive with 4,248 examples built. The convertibles had a Plexiglas wraparound rear window and a base price of $3,430.

Along with the Montclair nameplate, distinguishable features included the chrome headlight rims, and an emblem on the rear area of the hardtops and sedans.

A total of 75,351 examples of the Montclair were built in 1957 which accounted for just over 26% of Mercury's production

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020