If you haven’t seen a widebody Cougar Eliminator before, this mean Mercury is here to change that.
The Mercury Cougar was to the Ford Mustang what the Acura Integra is to the Honda Civic. Think a more luxurious cabin, with everything else borrowed from Ford’s pony car. The 1969-1970 Cougar Eliminator was an appearance-package crafted for the mid-size Mercury that then added even flair to the design. It was sort of like Mercury’s answer to the wild Pontiac GTO Judge.
And for 2023, digital artist Timothy Adry Emmanuel turns everything up to 11 with this 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator widebody restomod. Rendered exclusively for HotCars, this muscle car stands outs even in a world that has become increasingly filled with Cougar restomods. Cars that range from simple, high-horsepower builds, to full-frame restorations that can give a Singer Porsche restomod a complex.
This particular classic car custom takes things in a direction that isn’t seen too often — the widebody. Coupled with the intimidating looks of the original, this Mercury Cougar hot rod restomod could keep you awake at night.
Widebody Mercury Muscle Car Is A Modern Hot Rod
Who says hot rod culture is a thing of the past? This widebody Mercury Cougar brings back the essence of hot-rodding — stuffing a big engine into a classic car — and adds its own flavor to the mix. Hot rods used to be about stripping everything back in the pursuit of performance. But hot-rodding now is definitely about personal expression. And this Cougar Eliminator restomod certainly has a lot to say.
Dominating the mean, stealthy appearance of this virtual build is the supercharger sticking through the power bulge on the Cougar’s hood. Big blower equals big power, and that’s the headline for this render. This Cougar certainly wouldn’t look out of place in the next Fast & Furious movie, with Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto gripping the steering wheel too tight in it.
Jokes aside, this Eliminator oozes pure muscle car. Look past the hideaway headlights, a touch borrowed from the original, and you’ll appreciate the slick way the widebody kit has been worked into the design. Intakes where the kit meets the original’s sheet metal draw your attention to the fact this is no ordinary Cougar. Deep dish, multi-spoke forged wheels are wrapped in massive cut slicks to put all that power down.
The side pipes are works of art in themselves, with just a hint of the equal-length headers snaking back into the engine bay. What we’d give to hear this thing in real life — the deep V8 rumble, amplified by the short headers, accompanied by the whine of the massive supercharger. It’d be sure to induce goosebumps — if the mean looks hadn’t already had your hair standing on end.
Is The Mercury Cougar The Next Big Thing?
Under 5,000 Mercury Cougar Eliminators were built between 1969 and 1970. About 2,400 cars were built the first year it was offered, dropping to just 2,200 Cougar Eliminators for 1970. This makes this particular Mercury incredibly rare.
These Mercury Eliminator packages gave muscle-car fans a slew of options from paint, to wheels, to trim, and of course, engines. They could be had with a 351, Boss 302, 390, or 428 Cobra Jet V8 engines. The last one being the rarest of them all. The more powerful engines even came with bespoke staggered rear shocks to keep wheel hop in check when launching off the line. These Eliminator models are shooting way up in value, for good reason.
On the other hand, regular Mercury Cougars seem to be in the realm of being affordable for most people. They’re not as common as other muscle cars of the era, so they bring an element of rarity to the ownership experience all by themselves. The Mercury Cougar also has a larger rear seat than the Mustang, with a true 3-seater bench. All of which means, you need to hop on the Mercury Cougar train before this cool muscle car shoots up in value.
Modern Cougar Restomod With Ford Coyote V8 Power
Ford power deserves to be at the heart of this modern Mercury. The Ford Mustang’s Coyote V8 comes to mind. With 5.0-liters of modern motor, it’ll even match up to the original’s 302 engine capacity. The blower will add a lot more power to the Coyote. It is a hot rod after all.
This motor and blower setup should be good for high-horsepower, over and over again. With those wide tires, this Cougar should also be ready to lay down impressive quarter mile times. Even though that’s clearly not the true purpose of the build. That still is to terrify anyone looking at it.
