1970 Mercury El Gato

Sporting a bold lime green paint job, El Gato (Spanish for "The Cat") was produced as a styling exercise for a futuristic-looking Cougar. Note the shaved door handles, chopped roof, and ultracool three-spoke 16" wheels with new-at-the-time Goodyear Polyglass radials. To say this Cat was before its time would be a serious understatement.

While the front end merged styling from both the Cougar and the GTO, it still projected an evil stance. Note how the limited flat black striping ends inside the molded-on hood scoop. Also, the front and rear pans were rolled a very advanced looking feature in an era of chrome bumpers. This was the first ever fastback Cougar.

At the rear, LTD-style taillamps were broken at the left by the racing-style gas filler cap. The square center-exit exhaust tips lended a very unique air to the car. It is not known if El Gato still exists but it’s presumed to have been destroyed (standard Ford practice for show vehicles at the time).