Ford – Cougar II

Vehicle Overview

In the 1963 Ford presented the Cougar II concept build by Vignale. This very handsome two-passenger GT sports car would have made a timely contender to the popular Corvette String Ray. The Cougar II features a fiberglass body, electrically-operated top-hinged doors, “pop-up” headlamps, and a serious, fully instrumented interior. Powertrain was a high-performance 260 cu. in. V-8 engine that connected a four-speed transmission with a console-mounted gearshift lever. It was claimed that Cougar II was engineered to reach speeds in the 170 miles-an-hour range. When interior air pressure exceeded 15 pounds per square inch, a reliefpanel across the rear of the passenger compartment opened automatically. This panel was required, since there was the possibility that at high speeds, the extreme pressure against the rear window might blow it out. This beautiful candy-red car still exists today.