Mercury Cougar XR-7
The Mercury Cougar XR-7 was a personal luxury class coupe that was marketed as an independent model from 1974 to 1982. From 1977 to 1982 the Cougar XR-7 was the Mercury Division counterpart to the Ford Thunderbird .
Development of the term XR-7
The model history of the Cougar XR-7 is confusing. One reason for this is the badge shifting carried out repeatedly by the Mercury Division in the 1970s . H. moving established model names to different vehicle classes.
In the model years 1967 to 1973, the term XR-7 only referred to a special equipment line of the Mercury Cougar , which at that time was a Mercury version of the successful Ford Mustang pony car . During this time, the Cougar was also regularly offered in alternative versions; In the 1967 model year, for example, there was also a Cougar GT in addition to the XR-7. The XR-7 versions were each the most expensive versions of the Cougar.
For the 1973 model year, Ford downsized the Mustang considerably; the now called Ford Mustang II was offered for the first time in the history of the model with four-cylinder engines. Mercury did not follow this development for the Cougar and did not offer a direct derivative of the Mustang II under its own name. Instead, the Cougar was repositioned for the 1974 model year. Instead of the previous sporty coupé, the Cougar has now become a model in the Personal Luxury Class, with the emphasis on comfort. At the same time, the model name changed: from 1974 to 1976 the vehicles were all called 'Cougar XR-7'. The term XR-7 , which in previous years had only referred to a certain equipment variant, became an integral part of the model name.
From 1974 to 1982 the Cougar XR-7 was an independent model that was only offered as a coupé. From 1977 to 1982 it was technically related to the two-door versions of the Mercury Cougar produced at the same time , which had no name affix; the regular sedans, coupes and station wagons of the Cougar series were, however, pure mid-range models without any particular sporty or luxurious features.
The XR-7 lost its independence with the 1983 model year. Since then, the entire Cougar series was to be understood as a counterpart to the Ford Thunderbird; four- and five-door versions were again omitted. From 1983 the XR-7 was therefore again one of several equipment variants of the Cougar.
The models of the Cougar XR-7 series
Cougar XR-7 (1974-1976)
In the model years 1974 to 1976 Mercury only offered the Cougar XR-7; a simple cougar (without the addition of XR-7) did not exist at this time.
The 1974 to 1976 model years Cougar XR-7 was the first Cougar to be marketed as a Personal Luxury Car. From a technical point of view, it was closely related to the mid-range models of the Ford group. It was now based on the Mercury Montego coupe, which in turn was the Mercury version of the Ford Torino . His parallel model at Ford was the Ford Elite , which was positioned below the large and expensive Thunderbird. Unlike its predecessor, the Cougar XR-7 was based on a separate box frame and was powered by eight-cylinder engines with displacements from 5.8 liters to 7.5 liters.
The only difference between the Cougar XR-7 and the Montego Coupé was a modified front section with a different grill design. Otherwise the sheet metal parts were identical. The interior was of higher quality, on request there were leather covers for the seats and electrical controls for windows, seats and trunk lids.
The Cougar XR-7 was priced at $ 4,705 for the model year. It was thus US $ 1,500 more expensive than the Montego Coupé and about as expensive as a large coupé from the full-size Mercury Marquis series. Regardless of the price difference, significantly more copies of the Cougar XR-7 than of the technically identical Montego Coupé were made in each of the three production years. a total of 299,050 copies of the Cougar XR-7 were made.
Cougar XR-7 (1977-1979)
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The second generation of the Mercury Cougar XR-7 was positioned directly as a counterpart to the (reduced) Ford Thunderbird . Both the Thunderbird and the Cougar XR-7 were technically based on the mid-range models of the Ford concern, which from 1977 were called Ford LTD II and Mercury Cougar (without the addition XR-7).
Like the Thunderbird, the Cougar XR-7 again used a structurally simple box frame on which a coupé body was placed. In terms of style, the Cougar XR-7 stood out from the regular basic coupé called the Cougar Two Door with an independently designed rear section . The Cougar XR-7 had vertical instead of horizontal rear lights, and the trunk lid, which was advertised as the Continental Type : The trunk lid contained an angular bulge, the design of which was supposed to be reminiscent of the Continental Mark V. With the expensive luxury coupés of the Lincoln Mark Series , it was common to design the trunk lid in such a way that the impression is created as if it were covering a spare wheel attached in a standing position. The roof over the rear part of the passenger cell was covered with vinyl that either matched the color of the body or was kept in a clear color contrast.
Eight-cylinder engines with a displacement of 5.0 or 5.8 liters were used as drive; In 1977 and 1978 a 6.6 liter eight-cylinder engine was also available.
The retail price of the Cougar XR-7 was $ 200 higher than the Thunderbird with basic equipment; In 1977 the stock-equipped Cougar XR-7 cost $ 5,200.
The Cougar XR-7 was more successful than all models in the Cougar series combined. A total of 454,815 copies of the Cougar XR-7 were made in three years. The Thunderbird sold more than twice as well during this time.
Cougar XR-7 (1980-1982)
The third generation of the Cougar XR-7 was again the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Thunderbird . The model change was accompanied by a significant reduction in size. The Cougar XR-7 and the Thunderbird were now based on the Fox platform . They were therefore related to the Ford Granada and the Ford Fairmont .
The body was now self-supporting again . It was structurally identical to the two-door version of the Ford Granada or Mercury Cougar, but had different details. This was particularly noticeable in the area of the C-pillar . While it was steep in the two-door version of the Cougar called the Two Door , the Cougar XR-7 had a more inclined, wider and vinyl-covered C-pillar; the rear side windows were significantly smaller than on the Cougar Two Door .
Eight-cylinder engines with a displacement of 4.2 and 5.0 liters served as drive; from 1981 a 3.8 liter six-cylinder engine was also available. The interior was equipped with individual seats; Recaro seats were available on request . With the introduction of the scaled-down Cougar XR-7, production dropped dramatically. The production figures of the Ford Thunderbird halved compared to 1980 and 1979, those of the Cougar XR-7 sank to a third of the previous year's figure.
literature
- Albert R. Bochroch: American Cars of the Seventies . Warne's Transport Library, London 1982. ISBN 0-7232-2870-1 .
- Flammang, James M./Kowalke, Ron: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 , Krause Publications, Iola 1999. ISBN 0-87341-755-0 .
- Gunnell, John: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Krause Publications, Iola 2002. ISBN 0-87349-461-X .
- Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Illustration and description of a Mercury Cougar GT in the 1967 sales brochure.
- ↑ Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980, p. 462 ff.
- ↑ This gap in the market was filled by the Ford Capri II imported from Germany .
- ^ Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980, p. 464 f.
- ↑ Illustration and description in the sales prospectus from 1979
- ↑ Illustration of the Mercury Cougar Two Door in the sales prospectus from 1981
