Before I joined the Classic Car Club of Hong Kong, I truly had no idea Hong Kong has such a strong American muscle car following. These days, our Club drives are guaranteed to have at least a handful of American classics, mostly Corvettes and Mustangs. The movement permit that our Club provides for classic cars, even in LHD, certainly helps. But today we have a very special and unique American muscle in Hong Kong – a 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible.
I had no idea what a Mercury Cougar was prior to meeting this one. Turns out it is a Ford, as Mercury is a more luxurious division of Ford. The Cougar is one of Mercury’s most successful model, being produced from 1967 to 2002 (35 years), with close to 3 million cars made. Throughout the years, there have been many variations of the Cougar, from sports coupe and convertible to saloons, hatchbacks, and station wagons. The most collectible ones, however, are the early ones from 1967-1973, when they were true American muscles.
The early Cougars like the one we have here today are based on the Ford Mustang, although it is five inches longer and has a lot of tailor made parts, including the Dodge Charger-style flip up headlights and sequential rear indicators. It shares the same engine, transmission, suspension, and other parts with the Mustang, but it is intended to be a more luxurious version of the Mustang. It is said the Cougar was intended to sit right between the sporty Mustang and the even bigger and more luxurious Thunderbird.
The Cougar we have today is a convertible, it was made in 1969 – being the first year when convertible versions were available. The car was produced in Ford’s Michigan plant and it was one of only 369 Cougars that year to be in this shiny blue colour. The car spent most of its life in Chicago, before it was bought by the current Canadian owner in 2013 and was driven from Chicago to Vancouver by the owner himself after purchase. The owner shipped the car to Hong Kong in 2016.
The car has a 351 cubic inch engine (times it by 0.0164 and it has about 5.8 litres) with 350HP. It has a 3-speed automatic, power-steering, and front brake discs. You do feel the sheer size of the car when in the driver’s seat, especially for Hong Kong standards. The engine makes a nice and distinctive American V8 sound and you feel the torque and power of the car, shifting its multi-ton body relatively effortlessly. The brakes are adequate, but the handling is wobbly and feels disconnected. But this is to be expected. This is not a Porsche 911, this is an American muscle cruiser intended for cross continent drives in long, wide, and straight roads. We therefore picked the long straight dual carriageways around Hong Kong Disneyland to review this car and this proved to be a good decision.
The car floats through the smooth roads and offers plenty of torque and comfort. With the autumn air flowing through the open cabin while the top is down, I understand for the first time why these American cars are so popular in the West. Not really suitable for Hong Kong, but I’m thankful the owner brought it here with him so we get to experience it and see it cruising around Hong Kong roads every time there is a Club event.
As always, I am very grateful for the owner handing me the keys to experience this rare cat in Hong Kong. I am also always indebted to the team for their hard work:
Alex (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (Email: david@lemonadeandgiggles.com)
Alex C. (IG: @nofishshark)
See our video review here: