Abandoned Mercury Cougar XR-7 hides a gem under the hood

This 1967 Mercury Cougar spent years collecting dust in a barn behind 20 other cars, but it is now available as ‘a project’.

The good news is the car is relatively rare and valuable, chiefly because of its engine.

The bad news is, people clearly use the word ‘project’ quite loosely these days, don’t they?

READ MORE: Man builds his ultra rare dream car after finding the remnants of one as a barn find

Like so many other muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s, the car itself isn’t rare, but something about it is.

In this case, it’s the engine.

A mighty V8

mustangmasters428
mustangmasters428

V8s aren’t dying, but they are becoming more rare because they’re often replaced by smaller units.

The Lamborghini Huracán successor, for example, will still use a V8, as will the new Bentley Continental.

But then, by contrast, you’ve got Mercedes, who has recently replaced some of its AMG V8s with overpowered 4-cylinder engines.

This was definitely not the case in the 1960s.

mustangmasters428
mustangmasters428

Like nearly every other American-made vehicle from the era, the Cougar was available with V8s only, but there were many of them, from a 289 cubic-inch (4.7-liter) one to the 427 cubic-inch (7.0-liter) version.

This car features one of the most sought-after V8s, the 390 cubic-inch (6.4-liter) ‘Maurader’, putting out 320 horsepower.

This Mercury Cougar ‘project’ isn’t cheap

The Mercury Cougar wasn’t expensive when it was new.

The base model was priced at $2,851, while the XR-7 carried an MSRP of $3,081.

In 2024 money, that’s around $26,800 and $28,900 respectively.

mustangmasters428
mustangmasters428

The problem is this particular Cougar isn’t cheap.

The seller wants a hair under $20,000 for it.

That’s not too bad per se but the problem is, as you can see from the pictures, the car isn’t exactly ‘showroom ready’.

So, it’s a real ‘project’ for the right buyer, but you’ll have to commit to it – because this isn’t going to be a cheap hobby.