While the history of this 1969 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Convertible is hazy, the owner believes that it may have originally been ordered as a Philco show car. That might help to explain why it has been so highly optioned because this car was about as good as a Cougar could get in that model year. It needs a new home and an owner who is willing and able to return it to its former glory. Located in Wylie, Texas, you will find the XR-7 listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has already worked its way past the reserve and currently sits at $10,900.

The Marti Report that the owner has obtained for this Cougar confirms that it was ordered as a company lease for Philco. Whether it really was a show car is a matter of conjecture. It still wears most of its original Bright Blue Metallic paint, and the owner says that there is no evidence that the vehicle has ever suffered accident damage. The black sections on the exterior are where a previous owner has stripped away the Blue and has applied POR-15 as a preventative measure. The panels look straight, with no major dings or dents. It appears that the Convertible has spent most of its life in California and Texas, which means that the panels haven’t been consumed by rust. That isn’t to say that the exterior is perfect, but what is there is relatively mild in the grand scheme of things. There is some present in the floors and the trunk drop-offs, but the owner is including replacement floors as part of the deal. That Bright Blue paint would have been beautifully complimented by a White power top, and while the top is now a distant memory, the frame is intact and looks to be in reasonable order. Many trim pieces are missing from the exterior, including the bumpers and door handles. Whether these are included isn’t clear, but the original wheels are still fitted to the car, and they appear to be close to perfect.

It seems that the person at Philco who ordered this XR-7 wanted a car that provided far more than sheer good looks. That’s why we pop the hood to find the firebreathing 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air V8 occupying this space. The Marti Report also indicates that the car came equipped with a C6 automatic transmission, power steering, and power front disc brakes. With 335hp available under the right foot, the Convertible was never likely to be a slug in a straight line. Point this classic at the ¼ mile and the journey would be over in 14.6 seconds. At that speed, if you wore a wig you’d want to ensure that baby was firmly attached. Otherwise, your secret would be out for all to see! The owner believes that the engine that we see here is original, although the intake isn’t. He has also been told that it received a rebuild but hasn’t been able to confirm this. The original Ram Air system is intact, but it appears that a lot of parts have disappeared over the years. I can’t spot any of the power steering hardware, the carburetor, radiator, and sundry other items. I haven’t spied the transmission either, so the buyer might have a bit of a shopping list before this classic roars into life once again.

The case for this Cougar spending part of its life as a show car is strengthened when we look at the interior, although it is equally possible that it was ordered as the personal transport for a pampered Philco executive. It needs a total restoration, and while some pieces like the door trims are absent, almost everything else is present. The Marti Report makes interesting reading because there’s not much that this car didn’t have. Life was made comfortable by the usual array of XR-7 gauges, along with air conditioning, power windows, a power top, tinted glass, a console, a tilt-away rim blow wheel, and an AM/FM stereo radio. Once restored, there’s little doubt that life inside this Convertible would feel pretty special.

The owner of this 1969 Cougar XR-7 Convertible places some importance on this car being a “1-of-1” vehicle, but I tend to be pretty wary of such claims. When you look at the options combination it appears the claim has some validity, but the moment that the owner changed the tires, it changed the ballgame. That is because it was the type of tires originally fitted that transformed it from a 1-of-3 to a unique classic. If the next owner restores the vehicle to exactly how it was when it rolled off the production line, that would reinstate its 1-of-1 status, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that is what ultimately happens. If you were to make a serious attempt to secure this Cougar, is that the path that you would follow?