This Comet was almost an Edsel: it was conceived as one before that brand collapsed, and the first-year cars literally used Edsel parking lights and dashboard knobs left over in the parts bin.
Lead trim: Comet 144 cu in Thriftpower six · up to 164 hp
Mercury Comet1960–1963
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Mercury Comet yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThis Comet was almost an Edsel: it was conceived as one before that brand collapsed, and the first-year cars literally used Edsel parking lights and dashboard knobs left over in the parts bin.
The Comet was introduced in March 1960 as a compact car, sold for 1960 and 1961 as its own brand ("Comet") by Lincoln-Mercury and not branded a Mercury Comet until the 1962 model year. It was initially based on the compact Ford Falcon (stretched 5 in for sedans, but not for wagons), with better-grade interior trim than concurrent Falcons and a slightly longer wheelbase (114 in for coupes and sedans, 109.5 in for wagons; 194.5 in long, 70.4 in wide, 54.5 in high), in two- and four-door sedans and station wagons in standard and "Custom" trims; the 1960–1963 cars share a similar basic shape, sometimes called the "round body" Comets. In 1960 the only engine was the 144 cid Thriftpower straight-six (one source lists 90 hp at 4200 rpm and another 85 hp, so no rating is entered here); a 170 cid Thriftpower with a single-barrel Holley carburetor producing 101 hp at 4400 rpm arrived for 1961, along with a four-speed manual transmission. The optional S-22 "sport" package (two-door sedan only, with bucket seats and a center console) arrived in 1963 with the same mechanicals as regular Comets; for 1963 the chassis and suspension were redesigned to accommodate an optional 260 cid V8 (borrowed from the Fairlane) with a two-barrel carburetor producing 164 hp, and a convertible and a pillar-less hardtop coupe were added to the Comet Custom and S-22 lines. The Comet Drive automatic was renamed Merc-O-Matic; for 1962 a Comet Villager station wagon with simulated woodgrain panels was added. In Canada the Frontenac, a badge-engineered Falcon, was sold for one year (1960) before the Comet replaced it for 1961.
Collectors Spotted in the Mercury Comet Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mercury Comet yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comet 144 cu in Thriftpower six | 1960–1963 | 2.4 L Inline-6 | 85 hp | 138 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 170 cu in Thriftpower six (101 hp) | 1961–1963 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | 101 hp | 156 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 260 cu in Challenger V8 (164 hp) | 1963–1963 | 4.3 L V8 | 164 hp | 258 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Mercury's 1971 Comet was really a dressed-up Maverick, and it didn't even get its own taillights — the pods were carried over straight from the 1970-71 Montego and Cyclone.
By 1968 the once-diverse Comet lineup had been stripped down to one body style only — a two-door coupe, sharing its chassis with the Ford Fairlane and Torino.
Only 60 1967 Comets ever got the 427 V8, and of those, just nine were W-code — with a single W-code Capri making it, by one account, the rarest Mercury ever built.
In 1966 a Comet Cyclone GT convertible paced the Indianapolis 500 — serious racing credibility for what had started out as a humble compact six years earlier.
Ford split its drag-strip muscle on purpose: the Comet Cyclone ran on wider tires in a different class than its Thunderbolt sibling, so neither car had to beat the other to dominate.
This Comet was almost an Edsel: it was conceived as one before that brand collapsed, and the first-year cars literally used Edsel parking lights and dashboard knobs left over in the parts bin.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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