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.
Lead trim: Comet 170 cu in six (82 hp, 1972) · up to 210 hp
Mercury Comet1971–1977
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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.
FactMercury'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.
For 1971 the Comet name was revived on Mercury's version of the Ford Maverick compact, sharing most of its sheet metal with the Maverick but with a different grille, taillights, hood and badging (the taillight pods were shared with the 1970 and 1971 Montego and Cyclone); underneath was the same basic chassis used for the Falcon and the original Comet. Two- and four-door sedans (103 in and 109 in wheelbase; 181.7 in long for 1971–73, 187.7 in for 1974–77 after larger federal-standard bumpers added 2.5 in to the two-door and 4 in to the four-door; 70.5 in wide) came in base trim (1971–1977) and the "muscle car" Comet GT series (two-door only, 1971–1975, with a blacked-out grille, body-side stripes, high-back bucket seats and a simulated hood scoop). For 1971 the base engine was the 170 cid inline-six (100 hp at 4200 rpm) with options of the 200 cid inline-six (115 hp) and a 302 cid V8 (two-barrel, 210 hp); in 1972 the 170 was rated 82 hp at 4400 rpm, the 200 91 hp and the 302 138 hp, with a new 250 cid six (98 hp) option. For 1973 the 170 was dropped and the 200 became the base engine. A Custom decor package became a popular option. Ford had planned to replace the Comet for 1975 but the would-be replacements, the Mercury Monarch and Ford Granada, were built alongside it as "luxury compacts"; the GT features stayed available in 1976 and 1977 as the "Sports Accent" option group, and the Comet was discontinued for the Zephyr for 1978.
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
7 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 170 cu in six (100 hp, 1971) | 1971–1971 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | 100 hp | 156 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 170 cu in six (82 hp, 1972) | 1972–1972 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | 82 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 200 cu in six (115 hp, 1971) | 1971–1971 | 3.3 L Inline-6 | 115 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 200 cu in six (91 hp, 1972) | 1972–1972 | 3.3 L Inline-6 | 91 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 250 cu in six (98 hp, 1972) | 1972–1972 | 4.1 L Inline-6 | 98 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 302 cu in V8 two-barrel (138 hp, 1972) | 1972–1972 | 4.9 L V8 | 138 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Comet 302 cu in V8 two-barrel (210 hp, 1971) | 1971–1971 | 4.9 L V8 | 210 hp | 300 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.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.