This 1969 Mercury Cougar was modified for Hollywood use, it then featured in Bad Times at the El Royale driven by Dakota Johnson, and it was later used in the TV series Supernatural.
This car is powered by the 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Windsor V8 which has aluminum heads, it also has an unusual “stunt brake” pedal installed for on-camera stunt work, and it’s been given an Eliminator appearance package.
Fast Facts: The Mercury Cougar
- This 1969 Mercury Cougar was built as a Hollywood stunt car, appearing in “Bad Times at the El Royale” driven by Dakota Johnson and later in “Supernatural” (Season 14, Episode 9: “The Spear”). Modified for filming, it has a special “stunt brake” pedal likely used for controlled slides or other on-camera maneuvers.
- Power comes from a 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Windsor V8 with aluminum heads, an automatic transmission, and an aftermarket fuel pressure system. Though visually close to stock, the engine bay has some minor modern updates. The car also has the Eliminator appearance package, with striping and spoilers referencing Mercury’s late-1960s muscle trim.
- The interior is finished in blue with bucket seats, faux wood trim, a T-bar shifter, tachometer, and AM/FM stereo.
- Scheduled to cross the Mecum auction block in November, the car offers collectors both film provenance and authentic late-1960s American design. As a genuine 1969 Cougar with on-screen history.
History Speedrun: The Mercury Cougar
When the Mercury Cougar arrived in 1967, it filled a gap Ford had long recognized but never properly addressed. The Mustang had lit the fuse for the pony car era, but Mercury wanted something more refined and upmarket – a GT car that combined performance and luxury, aimed squarely at buyers who liked the idea of a Mustang but wanted something with quieter manners and perhaps a touch more class. That thinking gave birth to the Cougar, developed under the internal project code “T-7” and introduced as Mercury’s first true performance coupe.
When the Mercury Cougar arrived in 1967, it filled a gap Ford had long recognized but never properly addressed. Image courtesy of Ford.
The Cougar shared its underlying unibody platform with the Mustang but sat on a three inch longer wheelbase, at 111 inches. Its proportions were different to the pony car, its front end completely unique, with a signature full-width grille hiding vacuum-operated flip-up headlight doors – an upscale flourish that became its trademark.
Inside, Mercury fitted wood-grain trim, bucket seats, and optional full instrumentation, setting a tone that was more European luxury GT than blue-collar American muscle car.
Development on the Cougar began in 1965 as the Mercury brand sought to reinvent itself within the Ford hierarchy. The Cougar would serve as a bridge between Mustang and Thunderbird – cool enough to attract performance buyers, but still polished enough to justify its higher price tag.
Chief designer Dave Ash and his team refined the Mustang’s dimensions, extending the wheelbase for better ride comfort and more interior space. The result of all this was a distinctly Mercury product that was clearly related to the Mustang, but perhaps a little more mature in its attitude.
When it debuted for 1967, the Cougar offered three V8 options – the 289 cubic inch two-barrel with 200 bhp, the 289 cubic inch four-barrel rated at 225 bhp, and the 390 cubic inch big block producing 320 bhp in the Cougar GT. A 3-speed manual was standard, with a 4-speed or a Merc-O-Matic automatic optional.
As with the Mustang, the Cougar rode on coil-spring front suspension and a leaf-sprung rear axle, a familiar Ford setup that was tuned for a smoother ride in this application. Buyers could step up to the XR-7 package, which added leather-trimmed seats, toggle switches on the dash, full gauges, and a wood-rim steering wheel.
The 1967 Mercury Cougar Dan Gurney Special was a dealer-offered appearance package celebrating Gurney’s Trans-Am success, featuring unique badging, chrome accents, and mild cosmetic upgrades over the standard Cougar. Image courtesy of Ford.
The Cougar was an instant hit, earning Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award in its first year, emulating the wild success the Mustang enjoyed when it was first released, and proving that for Ford, lightning could strike twice.
By 1968, Mercury continued to expand the lineup with a revised 390 rated at 325 bhp and the GT-E model, which briefly offered the mighty 427 before switching midyear to the new 428 Cobra Jet. With its hidden headlamps, sequential taillights, and crisply tailored hardtop lines, the Cougar had a distinct presence on the road that set it apart from its Mustang sibling – and many much preferred its looks.
The following year brought a facelift including a revised grille, updated body lines, and new engine options including the 351 Windsor for 1969. For 1970, the 351 Cleveland became the high-performance small-block choice.
The 1969 to 1970 period also introduced the Eliminator, a high-performance variant that brought the Cougar into muscle car territory. Standard power came from the 351, but buyers could opt for the 390, 428 Cobra Jet, or the Boss 302 – the same high-revving small-block that powered Ford’s Trans-Am Mustangs.
Eliminators were given bold graphics, rear spoilers, and paint options like Competition Blue, Competition Orange, and Competition Yellow.
In total, Mercury sold roughly 150,000 Cougars in the first year alone – an impressive figure for a new nameplate. The formula proved strong enough that Ford expanded the Cougar line into convertibles for 1969, followed later by luxury and personal coupe variants in the 1970s.
The 1969 Mercury Cougar was driven by Dakota Johnson in the 2018 film Bad Times at the El Royale, which also starred Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, and Jon Hamm. It then later appeared in the TV series Supernatural, in Season 14, episode 9 named The Spear.
By the mid-decade, the model series had shifted from sport to comfort, evolving into a smaller Thunderbird sibling and following the trajectory and following that model’s evolutionary line rather than the Mustang’s.
The 1969 Mercury Cougar Shown Here
The 1969 Mercury Cougar was driven by Dakota Johnson in the 2018 film Bad Times at the El Royale, which also starred Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, and Jon Hamm. It then later appeared in the TV series Supernatural, in Season 14, episode 9 named The Spear.
The car was turned into an Eliminator replica, and it’s powered by the 351 Windsor V8 mated to an automatic transmission. It has aluminum cylinder heads, an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator and pressure gauge under the hood, but the engine bay otherwise looks relatively standard for the era.
Inside you’ll find a blue bucket seat interior, faux wood trim, an AM/FM stereo, a T-bar shifter for the automatic box, a passenger side clock, and a faux wood-rimmed steering wheel fronting a 120 mph speedometer, and a tachometer.
Interestingly, the car also has a “stunt brake” pedal installed for on-camera stunt work, but the listing doesn’t go into any further detail on this – it may function as a hydraulic handbrake for the rear wheels, though this is just a guess.
Above Trailer: This is the original theatrical trailer for “Bad Times at the El Royale.” The Mercury Cougar shown in this article features memorably in the film, including in the first few seconds of this trailer.
The car is now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in November, you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Mecum
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
