Mercury Cougar S

Mercury's reincarnated Cougar coupe, particularly with the 2.5-liter/170-horsepower 24-valve V-6 and MTX-75 five-speed manual, has proven a potent force on the road and in the youth market.

Designed primarily by the Ford Motor Company small-car group in Europe, the front-drive Cougar arrived last year amid much-deserved praise for its distinctive New Edge styling, powertrain and brake muscle, chassis solidity, suspension refinement, and reasonable price. But there's an interesting new wrinkle in this cat tale. It's a concept car called the Cougar S.

Ford's Advanced Design Team and Special Vehicle Engineering joined forces to develop the S for Ford's marketing department. Acutely aware of a growing wave of young driving enthusiasts hot for small import front- and all-wheel-drive performance cars, the Mercury division is thinking seriously about offering an even stronger version of the Cougar as an import alternative. At this year's Specialty Equipment Market Association show, many of the speed-equipment suppliers had Cougars on display with their velocity-enhancement hardware installed. That's a big change from recent years, when the showcase vehicles have been lowered coupes from Honda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota.

Underhood, the Cougar S uses a 3.0-liter version of the Duratec DOHC V-6 with modified intake and exhaust systems for higher flow rates. Designers also grafted on a hood scoop and lower-restriction intake plumbing. The result is a significant 45-horsepower jump in output. But rather than feed all 215 ponies through just the front wheels with attendant torque steer and traction problems, a special viscous-drive, limited-slip differential has been installed to accommodate an all-wheel-drive system. Besides allowing the engine power to be divided and sent to all four tire-contact patches for quicker and more stable acceleration, all-wheel drive provides a sweet traction advantage when the roads get wet or icy.

"The goal was a good, positive feeling where everything is under control," says Dan Demitroff, a Ford 2.5-liter powertrain design engineer. "And that advantage extends to both wet and dry handling."

Another important change for additional stability was a reduction in the ride height. This was accomplished by lowering the suspension with shorter springs and fitting Goodyear P235/40ZR18 Eagle GS tires on all corners. These are installed on gorgeous 18-inch, three-piece alloy wheels. Also adding to the stability-enhancement was a 3-inch expansion of the rear track by way of wheel offset.

With all the changes for quickening the Cougar's stride, it became obvious modifications would be necessary to the braking system. The front rotors grew from 10.9 inches to an impressive 13.1. Likewise, the rear rotors were bumped from 9.9 to 11.0 inches. This change with more powerful calipers ensures short, well-controlled stops even when the fur is flying.

Proving there's more than one way to skin a cat, a series of relatively subtle exterior changes ensure that the hottest version of the Cougar would be easy to spot by enthusiast drivers. Beyond the hood scoop, wider rear track, and low-profile rubber, the Cougar S also sports a unique front fascia with integrated fog lamps and a brushed aluminum lower grille. In addition, the body sides feature rocker extensions that enhance the low-rider aspect of the vehicle while also providing a small aerodynamic improvement. Another exterior tweak is the addition of anti-splash lips to the wheelwells. These provide an airflow improvement and help to accommodate the car's widened stance. We were glad to see the somewhat clumsy crease running down the door panel of the stock Cougar has been removed. At the back of the car, the aero treatment includes dual-spoilers with nicely integrated exhaust-pipe tips.