1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
source: Wikimedia
Mercury’s Cougar Eliminator is a cool-cat cousin to Ford’s own venerable pony car, the Mustang. Introduced in 1969, the Eliminator finally put some claws to the comparatively soft paws of the Cougar. Although the Cougars of years’ past looked more like pimp wagons and Studio 69 saloons, the ’69 Cougar was a proper fastback muscle car. It’s good news that Mercury finally got things right, too – 1969 was a banner year for American muscle. The Cougar had plenty of competition to fight.
And fight it in fashion and power it did. The completely redesigned cat took on a longer and wider body, providing plenty of real estate for flared body panels, a sexy front fascia, plenty of chrome, and some sinister headlights and taillights covered in the shiny metal. The sequential taillights became concave, lending a more cut-off and vertical rear end, while the headlights became hideaways, not to interfere with the wide, blacked out grille.
source: ShutterStock
The Eliminator received positive critical acclaim when its name first appeared on the list of drag strip funny cars driven by “Dyno” Don Nicholsen. Powered by none other than Ford’s legendary 427 FE motor, the Eliminator produced the kind of performance normally reserved for the racing circuit.
Finalized production of the Eliminator made available the 351 Windsor 4-valve motor and a four-barreled version of the classic 390 GT and Marauder engine. Most impressive, the Cobra Jet 428 was optioned with available ram air induction. The brawny Boss 302 followed shortly, and it’s even speculated the Boss 429 was made available – though sales sheets only show it to have been installed on two cars: Don Nicholsen’s and Eddie Schartsman’s cars.
A total of 2,250 cars were produced in 1969 with just 2,267 more made in 1970 before its demise, making the Cougar Eliminator a rarity among the Ford family’s many greats. Nonetheless, the Eliminator’s formula is relatively homogeneous among the other legends we’ve added to our list. What we love most about the Eliminator is its unique design. Subtle, but distinct.
In fact, Mercury’s designers saw their vehicle lineup struggling among the Big Three, so they took a risky but creative approach to mocking up the redesign. Drawing from European sportsters – notably, the Jaguar E-Type – the end result was a car that managed to offer up a noir finish. Something with distinctly American power and prowess, yet a brush against the grain of all the Mustangs, Challengers, Road Runners, and Camaros. And for that risky pay-off, it earns a spot on our list of 25 stunning muscle cars.
