Debuting at the 1962 Chicago show, the Ford Cougar 406 featured top-hinged, electrically operated gull-wing doors and came equipped with the new 406 cubic inch V-8. The engine developed 405 horsepower and 448 pound-feet of torque. Swing-up headlights were concealed in the tips of the fenders. This was the second Ford concept car to wear the Cougar nameplate. The original was a 3/8-scale model from 1956. Mercury first applied the Cougar moniker on a 1967 two-door hardtop pony car based on the Mustang.
The D-523 "Cougar" was an experimental Ford built on a T-Bird chassis with fuel injection. This car was designed in Gil Spear's studio in 1954, mainly by Samsen, whose original concept sketches are shown below.
Source: www.chicagoautoshow.com; automobileart.homestead.com
Images: Ford; www.shorey.net
