Up until now, the only Auto World versions of the 1968 Mercury Cougar in my ever-growing slot car collection raced with the Trans Am fleet. I’ve avoided this car for years because I’ve always thought the proportions of it looked wrong, just like they did on the original Aurora body its copied from; the wheelbase is too short, with too much overhang over the front wheels. I still think that, but a while ago I saw this “special edition” for sale it its original case at a price I thought was too good to pass up, and once I got it home and put it together with a set of custom wheels and tires I realized that I’ve been wrong all this time; the proportions are off a little, but it still looks awesome! This, then, is the first Cougar to race outside the Trans Am class at Drag City!
This is one of the “Hot Rod Magazine” releases, sold in a jewel case with special packaging and presented in a unique color, namely a deep metallic lime green. I wouldn’t say its “rare”, really, but it is something a bit out of the ordinary. Maybe this car appealed to me so much because the Matchbox model of the Cougar (made back in the day when the real thing was in showrooms) was also made in metallic lime, but regardless, this car came out gangbusters with a set of Road Race Replicas “Stones” wheels and big silicone tires. It’s mounted on the chassis it came on, which is to say its brand new, and although its completely stock except for the pin, its wicked fast! As for the pin, I added a long OS3 “Lightning Rod” to take advantage of the deep slot on the AFX track.
“Green-Eyed Lady”, the ’68 Cougar brought to Drag City by Imperial Valley resident Seth “Storm Signal” Simmons, is not the desirable XR-7 edition, but its still plenty desirable, being a low luxury/high performance configuration from the factory! Fitted with the 390 Marauder CT big block engine fixed to a “top loader” 4-speed and a 3.50:1 “Power Transfer” limited slip 9-inch rear, the car was ordered with everything manual other than the steering and brakes, and without air conditioning; uncommon for a model that was sold as an upmarket “adult pony car.” The addition of disc brakes during Simmon’s partial restoration and an upgraded radiator and transistorized ignition made the spark hotter, the running cooler, and the stopping predictable, and with that done it was time to take her racing! We’ll see if this Rookie performs as good as she looks in the time trials that are coming up later this month!
Rare or not, the end result is the same, awesome!