As the last model year of the Fox Body Mercury Cougar got underway, personal-luxury coupes were still fairly popular; in fact, almost any manufacturer of a specialty vehicle today would be thrilled with the 1988 Cougar’s production total of 119,162 units. It’s also possible that fans of 1980s collector cars will be thrilled with this clean XR-7 that’s posted on Facebook Marketplace in Hales Corner, Wisconsin for $12,000. It’s not a low-mileage car (138,622), but it’s had the same owner since 1991 and has spent the last 25 years in storage.
Unfortunately, that’s all the information we get in the Marketplace ad, which is not too unusual for a Marketplace ad, but we can fill in the gaps in the car’s specifications. For 1987, Mercury diverged from the Turbo Coupe’s formula of offering the turbocharged 2300 in its sportiest Cougar, replacing it with the Crown Vic-spec 5.0-liter V8, and the formula was the same for 1988. The 302 gained a partial dual exhaust system (it was more of a single-to-dual exhaust with two outlets), which raised the horsepower rating to 155 (from 150 in 1987). The AOD four-speed automatic was the only transmission available.
The engine was probably more fitting to the Cougar’s image, but the XR-7 still got some of the Turbo Coupe’s chassis tweaks, including the horizontal shock absorbers that were used on some Fox Fords to tame the rear end. Apparently, the 1988 Cougar XR-7 was the only one to get the big 8.8-inch rear axle (the rest had the 7.5-inch unit) with 10-inch rear drums and a slightly deeper 3.08:1 axle ratio (instead of a 2.73:1). Of course, the Turbo Coupe had rear discs and adjustable suspension, which weren’t available on the XR-7.
The interior of the XR-7 was luxurious, this example having “Preferred Equipment Group 266A,” which included intermittent wipers, AM/FM cassette stereo, tilt steering wheel, cruise control, rear window defroster, power windows, power locks, front floor mats, power driver seat, premium sound, and the luxury light group (which included lighted vanity mirrors, lighted door locks, an engine compartment light, a fancy dome lamp, and instrument panel courtesy lights). The luxury lamp group also included automatic headlights, dimmers, and cornering lamps. This car doesn’t have that feature, but the XR-7 came standard with cornering lamps anyway. The leather upholstery was an option.
The XR-7 also got full analog instrumentation that was similar to the Turbo Coupe’s. It also got the Turbo Coupe’s steering wheel (with a “cat” logo instead of a bird).
Outside, the XR-7 was only available in three “monochromatic” color schemes, Medium Scarlet (seen here), Oxford White, and Black. The wheels were new as well, and instead of the 10-hole wheels found on the 1987 model, the 1988 XR-7 got the Mustang GT’s hard-to-clean wheels in either body color or the argent look seen here. Standard tires were Goodyear’s unidirectional “Gatorback” radials, which were no good in the snow at all; a performance-oriented tire might have been a misstep on the tamer XR-7.
As a person who spent his formative years driving a 1987 Thunderbird, I have to point out the one thing that I don’t really like about this bodystyle (can you guess based on this picture?). It’s that massive rear overhang, the outcome of putting a 200.8-inch-long car on a 104.2-inch wheelbase. I wonder if the Mark VII’s longer wheelbase would have helped enough to be worth the trouble.
It probably wouldn’t be too much trouble to own one of these reliable, fairly simple old Cougars, especially one that seems to have been well-cared-for like this one. The website coolcats.net has broken down XR-7 production, and only 2,654 were Medium Scarlet with Scarlet leather seats, a combo that was rarer than either of the black or white combinations. Is it worth $12,000? Well, it’s been up for sale for over a week, so I’d say the selling price will be a little lower, but where will you find another if you’re a Cougar fan?
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1987 or 1988 Mercury Cougar: Picking At An Open Wound (by Jason Shafer)
I never liked the roofline on these Cougars.
Quite possibly the most exotic “C” pillar in history. You either hate it or love it. I love it.
Love it. If you think about it this was about as close as the Cougar got to being a fancy Mustang since the originals, especially sharing the GT turbine wheels. However I agree the 104” wheelbase is hard to ignore once you notice it, moving to a 113” wheelbase with the following MN12 generation was probably the greatest improvement.
It’s too bad about the low output 5.0, but I imagine L-M dealers didn’t like the idea of the cheaper Cougar undercutting the Mark VII LSC with the H.O. Plant. Eventually the Cougar would get the 5.0 H.O. in the next generation, following a two year hiatus of any V8s, but in a heavier platform and fairly neutered by a tortured exhaust and the same low profile upper intake manifold that made the 94-95 SN95 Mustang GTs tamer than its Foxbody predecessor. These 87-88 XR7s would have been more remembered today, much like the LSC is, had it got the high output 5.0 at its peak.
I also wonder if Ford had any input into the XR-7’s only getting the S.O. 302; an HO-powered Cougar would have overcut the Turbo Coupe and created a car that many T-Bird/Cougar owners would have really wanted. It probably would have also eaten into Mustang GT sales a bit. It’s no wonder they did it, but it’s a shame, because it probably would have been the ultimate Cougar (just like an HO-powered T-Bird would have been the ultimate T-Bird).
Even so, I still like the supercharged ’89-’90 XR-7s, even though I don’t remember seeing them around very much. When I was a kid, I liked the Super Coupe better, but today I think it’s a draw.
I imagine it’s a combination of that as well as logistical issues with Tbirds and Cougars being built at different assembly plant than the Mustangs and Mark VIIs that got the H.O. engines. It is to be noted the XR7 package wasn’t totally unique to Mercury, as there was also a Thunderbird “Sport” without any real external identification in 87-88 that was effectively the same mechanical spec as these XR7s(5.0, Turbo style suspension, analog gauges). I suspect a HO powered Cougar was less a threat to Mustang sales as it was to Mark VII sales, where a HO powered Tbird may well have threatened Mustang sales, so with those factors I’m sure the product planners said” why send those engines to Lorain assembly?”
The 91-92 Cougar XR7s were essentially a repeat of the 88s, they were full Supercoupe spec down to the electronically adjustable shocks and other specific gadgets, but with the 5.0 H.O. as the mandatory engine instead of the supercharged 3.8 mill of the 89-90 and even retained the 3 color monochromatic format (until mid 92).
Pretty car, but cursed with the four-bolt pattern wheels, which to me says “cheap”. A friend said the wheel pattern was the go-to for all FOX-derived cars with a four-cylinder engine, but I’ve never seen a T-Bird or Cougar of that vintage with a five-bolt wheel. Was this just Ford cutting corners?
The only foxbody cars that got 5 lug wheels were the Lincoln Continental and Mark VII, the 84-86 SVO Mustang and the 1993 SVT Cobra R, all other cars shared the 4 bolt pattern, be it a Mustang LX 5.0 or a regular SVT Cobra or any Tbird/Cougar, LTD, Fairmont etc
Came to say this. 4 Bolts always looked/seemed cheap (to me), imagination or not. The car just looks too ‘big’ to only have 4.
I didn’t love these back then, but now a days, they look better (likely because of all the sameness of the cars today).
I’d drive one. (Not for 12k), but still.
4 bolts too skimpy?
How about my old Renault LeCar with the traditional French 3 bolts.
At least they were only 13-in. wheels.
Even the original British Mini, with 10-in. wheels …….had 4 bolts.
Guesswork on my part, but don’t more bolts (and closer to the hub) make the tires easier to balance?
I have never noticed the rear overhang before, now I can’t unsee it. And I prefer the T-Bird roof line over these, but this is a nice car, however.
I have always liked this generation of Cougar, and this example has my preferred color combination. While I agree the rear overhang looks bad, I never noticed it much when encountering them on the road – it’s problematic only when seen in full side profile.
I think the engine choice is very representative of the issues Ford had in positioning the Cougar, and on a general level Mercury. Can’t be too sporty, the Mustang fills that role. Can’t be too luxurious either, or you step on the Mark VII’s toes. The “accessible” personal coupe is the Thunderbird, which carries a very strong name (arguably a brand), had plenty of gadgets and features, and cut the line between comfort and performance… where does this leave the Cougar?
Thus, the Great Die-Off of medium-priced brands. Too many clones.
Ah, the picture of that engine bay brings back memories… My ‘88 5.0LX T-Bird looked just like that, only the painted bits were black.
The instrument panel pic brings back memories too. The wife had an ‘88 Turbo Coupe, and as you said, the steering wheel was the same, only with a ‘Bird logo, and the gauges were exactly the same, except for the missing boost gauge.
Ironically, I paid $12,000 for my 5.0 ‘Bird in 1990 as a used car with 42K of highway miles on the clock. Of course adjusted for inflation…..
I have always preferred the Bird’s roofline to these. I remember thinking at the time that Ford went further than anyone in offering a bright red interior reminiscent of the kind popular in the early 60s. Everyone else’s red interiors seemed to edge more into the area of burgundy.